The Order of the Flames
by LostPipersChild
Summary: Sequel to Druid Legacies. Voldemort has returned but the Ministry is wilfully blind and Dumbledore is convinced that only he has all the answers. The students refuse to stand aside and decide to form their own resistance. But there is a new enemy clad in pink stalking the halls of Hogwarts and Voldemort makes plans to strike from within. Warning! Mature Content later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes – Hello and welcome back after a long absence. I've been suffering from the worst kind of writer's block, the kind where you know exactly what you want to say but every time you sit down to type it out, the words just don't come, and the ones that do don't sound right. But I've finally got past that and this is the result. This is the third instalment in the Hogwarts Chronicles and if you've made it this far I probably don't need to explain what's happened so far. If you've stumbled across me by accident, then just follow the link to my Author's Page and you'll find the first two books already posted.**

 **Chapter One**

 **Summer Holidays**

It was late, darkness pressed against the windows of Malfoy Manor through which bright lights shone. The drawing room in particular held many lit candles so as to illuminate this, most important, of meetings. Around twenty people sat around the long polished table, each with a goblet of in front of him or her – though there were only a few women present. Among them was Narcissa Malfoy. She sat with her back rigid in her chair beside her husband, and her son. Draco was clearly trying to appear cool and collected, but Narcissa could see his hand was clenched tightly under the table.

"You…lost her," said a cold, high voice at the head of the table. Most of the Death Eaters looked pointedly down at their goblets, all except Crabbe, who squirmed in his chair under his master's frightening gaze.

"My lord," he began but Voldemort silenced him with a look. The Dark Lord was fingering the stem of his goblet and shaking his head slightly.

"After weeks of searching, Alaw Jones finally emerges from her hiding place, and you manage to lose her?"

"She must have left the country!" Crabbe said desperately. "We tracked her and three of her friends from London to Dover, but they vanished!"

"You _were_ watching the ferry I trust?" Voldemort asked sharply and Crabbe nodded.

"Yes my Lord, constantly, but they never boarded. They must have left some other way, but we don't know how."

Voldemort tapped his finger on the table irritably. They had been unable to find Alaw Jones' home address because the Ministry records had been tampered with, Dumbledore's doing no doubt. Though Voldemort was fairly certain the Jones family still lived in the same area they had twenty years ago, Snape had informed him that their house had been placed under strong blood-wards by Dumbledore, and that their village was under constant surveillance by the Order of the Phoenix. Which begged the question…

"Severus, was this move planned by the Order?"

All eyes now turned to Snape, who sat to Voldemort's left, across the table from Lucius. Snape's face was predictably difficult to read as he answered.

"The Order is as baffled as we are my lord. It would appear that Miss Jones has chosen to run away, slipping past her guard. Black has received a postcard from her stating that she and her friends are safe and that they will be back in a few weeks. Beyond that, the Order has no more information."

There was silence as Voldemort lowered his eyes to his goblet again and continued to tap the stem. He found himself quite impressed with Alaw's success. Not only had she evaded him, but Dumbledore too. He had expected the headmaster to recruit Jones and her friends into the Order of the Phoenix at once, but this midnight flight suggested that all was not well between the two of them. He made a mental note to ask Severus about it after the meeting. But why? Why had they gone abroad? Were the children planning something on their own, or was it simply to annoy the Order?

"Well, it makes no difference to our long-term plans," Voldemort concluded after a while. The atmosphere around the table calmed somewhat, most notable in Crabbe who was looking immensely relieved that his blunder would go unpunished. "We must focus our efforts on recruiting new members to the cause. Macnair should have reached the Urals by now, I expect to hear from him soon. The Giants will make a useful addition to our forces. And Greyback has been located near Upper Flagley, Avery can contact him."

Avery didn't look thrilled at this order but he bowed his head in acknowledgement. Normally, Voldemort would have preferred to keep the barrister close to the Ministry in order to gather information but Avery had somehow managed to get himself suspended from the Wizengamot a few months ago, something to do with accusations of insider trading. There would be a hearing about it soon though it was likely Avery would only be slapped with a fine rather than spending time in Azkaban. It was clear that Voldemort's Death Eaters had grown sloppy in his absence.

The Dark Lord turned his gaze to the youngest member of the gathering. Draco was gazing fixedly at the table in front of him, sitting poker straight in his chair. It was such a shame, the boy was nothing like Lucius. He put up a good front but it was clear that great men bred lesser sons. Ah well, there were plenty of other promising young men to recruit. Several of his Death Eaters had children who attended Hogwarts and Voldemort was keen to have a base at the school.

"Very well, that concludes most of our business tonight. The time has come to welcome our newest member. Draco, step over here."

As Voldemort and his Death Eaters rose from their seats, Narcissa reached to squeeze her son's hand tightly under the table. Draco's jaw was set and he was having a hard time keeping the look of terror off his face. He walked over to the circle of waiting Death Eaters like a man on his way to the gallows. Lucius went with him as his sponsor, whilst Narcissa hung back, not being a true Death Eater, she was not permitted to take part in the ceremony. She had been most reluctant to allow this, but Lucius had insisted. They needed to show that the whole family was loyal to the cause and after all, he had been eighteen when he joined the Death Eaters. What Draco thought of it was unclear, but he understood that he had no choice in the matter.

On the pretext of patting him encouragingly on the shoulder, Lucius pushed his son firmly towards his new master. Voldemort tapped his wand on the palm of his hand and gave Draco a searching look. Draco met his gaze for the first time that night and squared his shoulders, trying to stand tall.

"So," Voldemort began softly. "Here we are. You understand what you are doing today Draco? You are joined a brotherhood, a proud resistance against the tide of muggle oppression. Be sure that you are willing to commit because there will be no turning back, not once you have taken the mark and the oath."

Draco found himself wondering what Alaw would make of all this seriousness. She would call it cultish and pretentious no doubt. But no, he mustn't think about her now. They would not, could not, be friends anymore. Draco would have to stay as far away from her as possible for her own sake as well as his own. This was the only way to protect the family. Failure to appear loyal would surely mean death.

"I am ready," Draco said in as firm a voice as he could muster, shoving Alaw from his mind. A smile curled Voldemort's lip.

"Very well, hold out your arm and we will begin."

His father had warned him that receiving the mark would hurt. The process was over in two minutes, and in all that time, Draco was astonished that he managed not to scream.

OoOoO

A warm, gentle breeze blew across the surface of the lake, making the water ripple and the leaves of the willow trees lining the shore to wave lazily. Alaw was feeling immensely content, stretched out luxuriously in a deck chair, a pair of sunglasses shading her eyes and wearing a striped white and blue bikini. When she had sat down an hour ago the sun had been shining directly onto her and she'd been developing a nice tan, but it had since moved as evening approached and she was too lazy the drag the deckchair out of the shade. She groped one handed for her drink and took a long sip. This was her idea of heaven.

"For god's sake woman, have some decency and put some clothes on."

Alaw sat up and lifted her sunglasses to glare at Ron who had just arrived at their little patch of the campsite.

"I'll wear what I like, thank you very much," she snapped.

She and Hermione had been trying to immerse the boys in as much muggle culture as they could over the past few weeks but some things still managed to shock them, like the sight of women sunbathing topless on the beach they'd visited two days ago. Alaw had tried to explain that this was quite common on the continent, but Ron and Neville's faces had still been beetroot red for half an hour.

"What's Ron whining about now?"

Hermione's voice drifted out of the second tent she and Alaw shared. Alaw lay back down and stretched.

"He's embarrassed because he can see my stomach," she yawned. She glanced over and grinned as Hermione emerged from the tent, also clad in a bikini, though hers was red, which was the colour Ron's face went.

"Ron, calm down," Hermione scolded. "You don't see Neville getting all holier-than-thou do you?"

Neville, who was busy grilling sausages on the BBQ they'd rented from the campsite owner, threw Ron a grin. Alaw was fairly sure she knew why Neville never complained about their clothes, or why he hadn't moaned when Hermione decided to drag them around the gallery of the Louvre a few days ago. They'd been in France for a week and a half and after spending a large portion of that time in Paris, even Alaw had to admit she was all cultured out. The Louvre had been fascinating, Hermione and the boys had practically had to drag her away from the Egyptian wing, and Notre Dame had been magnificent, and the Wizarding Catacombs had been eerie, but it was a lot of history to squeeze into just a few short days.

They'd done other things too of course. They'd taken in a show at Chat Noire, which presented a muggle façade to ordinary tourists, but which in fact had an excellent wizarding lounge in the back rooms. Alaw would have liked to have rented rooms there, but that was beyond their means, so they had stayed in a muggle hostel on the outskirts of the city. And there was another reason Alaw thought it best they stay away from wizards as much as possible. They had entered the country by muggle means, driving to London in Ron's parents' Ford Anglia, and then on to Dover to fool anyone following them into thinking they'd taken the Ferry. After admiring the cliffs for an hour or two they'd carried on to Folkestone and taken the Channel Tunnel to Calais.

It had been quite an ordeal to organise the trip. Booking the Tunnel should have been easy but neither of the boys had muggle passports so they had had to wait a few weeks whilst they obtained them, mainly relying on the girls to help them with the application process. It had then been a case of persuading their parents. It had been no problem for the girls, who had been abroad with friends before, or Neville, whose grandmother had been more than happy to let him go. No, the problem had been the Weasleys. They were active members of the Order of the Phoenix and there was no way in hell they were going to let their son go abroad with Voldemort on the loose. Ron must have been determined to come on this trip, otherwise he would never have risked Mrs Weasley's wroth by stealing the car.

"The food's nearly done, but we're out of bread," said Neville, gingerly turning a kebab so that it cooked evenly.

"Ron and I will get some, and some more drinks," said Alaw at once before Hermione could offer. She was quite keen to let her and Neville spend some time alone on this holiday, now that Viktor Krum was out of the picture.

After slipping on a pair of sandals and grabbing long beach shirt to spare Ron his blushes, she dragged him off across the campsite. There were a dozen other groups pitched around the lake shore, families mainly, and a few young people like themselves. They'd already made friends with a couple of German boys who'd invited them to share a drink. Ron hadn't been too impressed by the offer and denounced the lads as creeps until Alaw pointed out the Pride sticker on the bumper of their minivan – and then explained what it meant.

"Any word from the Order?" Ron asked.

"Nope, looks like that thingamajig actually works," Alaw smirked.

The 'thingamajig' was actually an anti-tracking charm they'd obtained from the Ministry. Alaw had applied for one the moment she got back to Beddgelert for the summer and it coincidentally took about the same amount of time as a new passport to process. The charm, which came in the form of a dull little ring made of copper, ensured that no owl could locate them. This meant they would receive no post from the Order demanding that they return. Alaw had sent a post-card to Sirius from Dover to inform him that they were safe, just in case the Order jumped to the conclusion that they had been kidnapped by Voldemort. Beyond that, there had been no contact.

"Are you sure you're ok with taking all the blame?" Alaw asked for something like the tenth time that holiday.

"Yes!" Ron insisted, rolling his eyes. "Look, you seriously don't want to get on my mum's bad side. It's best to let her and dad think this was all my idea and leave it at that."

Accept, it wasn't going to be that simple. As far as Neville and Hermione knew, the Weasleys had given Ron permission to come on this trip and Dumbledore had encouraged them to go abroad. In fact, Dumbledore had expressly told Alaw to stay in Beddgelert where she would be safe and Molly and Arthur certainly would never have given Ron permission to go abroad in such a time of crisis. When they returned to the UK, Alaw was going to have to lie her arse off, and pretend she had also thought the Weasleys were ok with the whole affair. Ron would chivalrously take all the blame upon himself, for which Alaw was eternally grateful. She liked the Weasleys to think well of her after all.

There was a small queue inside the boulangerie so Alaw and Ron stood around for a few minutes, deciding which pastry they wanted whilst also discussing the next leg of their journey.

"Can we please go to the Camargue?" Ron begged as an elderly lady with skin like a rhinoceros paid for her baguette and shuffled past them out of the shop. "There's loads of wizarding stuff to do down there!"

"You mean Quidditch," Alaw corrected. "You only want to go because their team won the last Championship."

"Oh come on, we've done loads of stuff you girls wanted to do, let me and Neville have this one."

Alaw screwed up her nose and made a disgruntled noise. She was extremely reluctant to go to near other wizards. Technically, adult witches and wizards had to present themselves to the French Border Patrol and obtain a visa. However, Alaw had read the travel guides thoroughly and discovered that underage wizards who entered the country by muggle means did not need a visa, as they weren't allowed to use magic anyway. But she wasn't sure her French was good enough to allow her to explain this to a cross official if they were stopped in a wizarding town.

"I will think about it," she said to stop Ron from arguing further. The customer in front of them left and it was their turn to step up to the counter.

" _Bonsoir, deux baguettes s'il vous plait. Et deux éclairs, un tart tatin, et_ – uh – _ce_."

She pointed lamely to a raspberry and cream tart whose French translation escaped her. The man behind the counter however was obviously used to fumbling tourists and bagged up their purchases without raising an eyebrow. However, once they'd paid and were leaving the shop, Alaw distinctly heard him mutter to his assistant,

" _Anglais._ "

" _Galloise!_ " Alaw snapped, but only loud enough for Ron to hear.

When they got back to their pitch, Alaw was pleased to see that, not only was the food ready for them on the picnic table, but also that Hermione and Neville were laughing together as some private joke. If she played her cards right, she'd have them together before the new term started. Ron rather spoiled things by plonking himself between them and attacking the pile of kebabs with gusto.

"So, Al and I have decided we should go to the Camargue next," he said to which Alaw snorted.

"Oh we did, did we?" she said scathingly, also sitting and tearing off chunks of the baguette to use has hot dog buns. "Look, I really don't want to go and sit through a Quidditch game. Why don't we go to Bordeaux and hit the clubs if you're bored of culture?"

"Actually," Neville piped up sheepishly. "I'd quite like to go to the Camargue as well. The national park has loads of rare plants and animals."

"It does seem a bit unfair to always do what we want Al, let the boys choose something for a change," said Hermione and Alaw, seeing that she was outnumbered, gave in.

She called up directions on her phone, did some quick calculations regarding timing, and made a mental note to buy some more of the good wine before they left the Dordogne. For the rest of the evening they ate and made merry with the aforementioned wine. It really was shaping up to be an enjoyable holiday, the only thing dampening the mood was the expectation of a real bollocking when they got home.

Ron had bought a pack of cards at the campsite shop the previous day and he brought them out and started shuffling them. He'd been determined to buy the cards himself, as if handling muggle money was the most exciting thing in the world. He refused to accept help from Alaw who had stood next to him with her arms folded as he attempted to count out the right amount of Euros. It had been an excruciating ten minutes.

"Exploding snap?" Ron suggested.

"Alright, but you know they don't explode, right?" said Hermione, pouring herself another glass of wine and accepting her cards from Ron.

Alaw was still trying to figure out the best route to take in the morning and only half paid attention to the game. Both she and Hermione could drive, but the Ford Anglia was insured to Weasley family and so it had been Ron who'd had to navigate his way clumsily through Calais. Once they were out of sight of the border police, Hermione had taken over, saying her nerves simply couldn't take Ron's driving anymore. This was technically illegal but Hermione was a very cautious driver so they were unlikely to be pulled over. Much less likely than Ron, who'd nearly killed the lot of them by drifting onto the wrong side of the road. Alaw had grabbed the wheel just in time to save them.

Wine had a tendency to make her sleepy so not long after the sun dipped below the horizon, Alaw bid the others goodnight and ducked into the tent. The Jones parents had quite a collection of camping gear in the garage so Alaw had borrowed two of the larger tents for this trip. It was much more comfortable than what she was used to, having the car meant they could carry proper camp beds with them and she had Hermione had plenty of room between them for all their stuff.

Once she was settled for the night, Alaw took out her phone again and started scrolling idly through her messages. She sent her daily text to her mother, assuring her they were still alright, and caught up quickly with some friends from secondary school. Dean Thomas was also active that evening and had sent her a funny meme which made her chuckle. She wished she could have Sirius on here, it would be a much more effective way to stay in touch, but she doubted he would quite grasp the concept of social media. And besides, where would he get a wifi signal?

OoOoO

According to her phone it was five o'clock in the morning when Alaw woke in desperate need of a wee. Grumbling under her breath, she tried to get up off the camp bed without waking Hermione. It was much colder than it had been earlier, a chill had crept into the tent so Alaw pulled on a jacket over her pyjamas and slipped her sandals onto her feet before ducking outside. All was quiet on the campsite, until Alaw swore after tripping over a guide rope. It was pitch black, the moon and stars were obscured by thick clouds and Alaw squinted up at this, shivering in the wind which blew in over the lake. It looked like it was going to rain, though the forecast had said it would be glorious sunshine all week. Perhaps it was a good thing they'd be moving on today.

Using her phone as a torch, she picked her way across the campsite, skirting around the Germans' caravan and the closed boulangerie, until she came to the communal bathrooms. Alaw fumbled for the light switch and grumbled some more as the harsh lamp overhead blinded her. She really wasn't a morning person. It wasn't until was washing her hands that Alaw began to question just how cold it really was. Her toes were numb and when she turned off the tap and stood still for a few moments, she saw that her breath was turning into vapour before her eyes. She frowned, and pulled out her phone to check the temperature, but it wouldn't respond to her thumbprint, or the power button when she tried that.

Then Alaw's heart stopped when she caught sight of the edges of the mirror, which were starting to be encrusted with ice. She had seen that happen before, and dread flooded through her.

"No, not here," she whispered. Stuffing her phone into her pocket, she hurried to the door of the bathroom and yanked it open.

Light spilled out over the grass and she peered into the night, her heart thudding madly. At first, there seemed to be no movement, but then a shadow twitched in the distance. It glided over the grass towards her and Alaw gave a squeak of horror as her worst fears were confirmed. She bolted from the bathroom block and skittered like a hare back towards the lake. She tripped over several more guide ropes as she went but she barely noticed.

"Hermione!" she cried once she was close enough. "Hermione! Wake up! Boys!"

Hermione's head poked out of the tent flap as Alaw skidded to a halt, nearly colliding with the picnic table.

"Al, wassamatter?" she asked blearily, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Dementor!" Alaw gasped, kneeling down and practically ripping open the boys' tent. "Get up now! There's a Dementor here! GET UP!"

There was some chaos as both Neville and Ron tried to get out of the tent at the same time and Alaw threw herself at the Ford Anglia and yanked at the door handle.

"Hermione! Where are the keys?!" she demanded.

"They're in my bag, Al, just calm down, how do you know there's a Dementor?" Hermione asked, staring at Alaw in quite a bewildered way.

"Because I saw one! Look!" Alaw shouted, pointing fearfully into the darkness.

The other three paused to look even as Alaw dove into the tent and made a desperate grab for Hermione's handbag. By the time she had found it and scrambled back outside, the other three had spotted what she had. A large, black figure, floating eerily towards them. It was close enough now that they could hear its rattling breath as it sucked all the warmth out of the air around it. Panic overtook all other emotions in Alaw's brain. The last time she had faced a Dementor she had very nearly lost her soul. Even now she could feel that creature's slimy jaws clamped around her own. She tore through the bag for the keys and then rammed them into the lock.

"Get in the car!" she cried, wrestling the door open and throwing herself into the driver's seat.

"But, what about the other people?" Neville asked.

"GET IN THE FUCKING CAR! It doesn't want them, it wants us!" Alaw screamed.

The Dementor was feet from them and the others didn't need telling twice. All three of them piled into the back seat and slammed the door shut behind them as Alaw fired up the engine. She wondered briefly what would happen if she ran the monster over but the nose of the car was facing the wrong way and she wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible. She hurriedly put the Ford Anglia in gear and put her foot down. The car shot forward, down the central driveway of the campsite and through the – mercifully – open gate.

"Neville, our wands are in the glove compartment, grab them!" said Hermione.

With some difficulty, Neville leant between the two front seats and popped open the glove compartment. It had a mild muggle repelling charm on it, placed there by Mr Weasley during his tinkering with the car, and they'd put their wands there just in case they were searched at the border. Alaw wasn't driving very carefully, she was tearing down the country lane at breakneck speed, determined to put as much distance between them and the Dementor as possible.

"What about all our stuff?" Ron asked after they'd been driving for about five minutes. Alaw spared him an angry glance in the rear-view mirror.

"Are you kidding me right now?! We can go back for it in the morning! Look, you've never had a Dementor's hands all over you, I have! And I am not letting it happened again."

This was sufficient in shutting Ron up, and the other two for that matter. After a little while, Alaw decided to slow down and drive like a sane person, but only because some of the adrenaline was wearing off.

"Where's the closest wizarding settlement?" she asked after there had been total silence for a long time.

"I don't know, there's probably wizards in Bordeaux, but that's ages away," said Hermione. She was clutching her wand tightly and kept glancing over her shoulder nervously.

Suddenly, the Ford Anglia gave a shuddering jolt and the engine began to make an unwelcome whining sound. It had made that sound before, earlier in their trip when it had broken down for a couple of hours.

"Oh not now! Not now you useless pile of shit!" Ron groaned.

He leant forward and whacked the dashboard with his wand but the car just wheezed in protest. It gave a few more sputters, before dying completely. They rolled to a halt in the middle of the lonely country lane. For a few moments all that could be heard was the four of them breathing hard. Alaw was just about to reassure the others that they had probably outrun the Dementor, when she saw her breath cloud up.

"Fuck," she whispered.

She tried to restart the engine but all it did was whine and sputter like before. Then she froze as a cloaked figure appeared in front of the car. The Dementor appeared to be looking straight at her, though of course it was impossible to tell with its hood up. Alaw had seen what was under a Dementor's hood, nothing but scabbed, dead skin and a single gasping hole where a mouth ought to be.

"Al, the doors are locked," Hermione said in an oddly hushed voice, reaching forward the grip her arm. "It can't get it."

But even as she said this, Ron gave a terrified yell as the window next to him shattered and a hand reached through to grab him. There were two of them. As the three in the back pressed against the other door, away from the snatching arm, Alaw jumped as the Dementor in front of her hit the windscreen with enough force to crack it. The second blow caved it in completely, showering her with shards of glass. Then a hand grabbed the front of her jacket and she felt herself being dragged out of the car. She could hear Ron, Neville and Hermione screaming spells but the flashes of red light from the Stunners were completely ineffectual against their attacker. Meanwhile she, Alaw, was being pressed against the bonnet of the car as the Dementor leant closer.

"Expecto Patronum!" she whispered, terror taking away her ability to shout. "Expecto Patronum!"

But only a few feeble wisps of white smoke puffed from the end of her wand and all they seemed to do was irritate the Dementor which released her in order to wave them away. Alaw had produced a proper Patronus several times since learning how to do it, but they had all been in controlled, safe, classroom environments. She tried to remember the first time she produced her guardian, back in the depths of the Hogwarts dungeons with Voldemort laughing at her and the Dementor pressing down on her. _Think something happy!_

"Expecto Patronum!" she screamed and bright light burst out of her wand, hitting the Dementor squarely in the chest.

Her dragon Patronus might have only been the size of a large dog, but it still made quick work of the monster. It tore the Dementor to pieces whilst its companion fled into the night. Alaw sent her Patronus after it but it flew too quickly and her dragon faded away when it strayed too far from her wand. When the light was snuffed out, Alaw slid from the car bonnet and knelt on the ground before breaking down into relieved sobs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note – And after yet another long absence, here's chapter two. I'm really experiencing some slump with this story. I know exactly what needs to happen and how, but the words just won't come. It's quite frustrating.**

 **Chapter Two**

 **The International Statue of Secrecy**

Alaw wasn't sure how she managed to drive the car back in the dark with broken windows and her hands shaking uncontrollably, but the trusty Ford Anglia seemed to know the way. They rolled back into the campsite just as the sun was rising and the moment they pulled up alongside their tents, Alaw staggered out of the car and over to the water's edge. She stood there, her hands resting on her thighs, not sure if she was going to vomit or not. In the end she didn't, and she had just turned to help the others pack away their stuff when she saw a man striding across the grass towards them. He was quite obviously a wizard for he was wearing full length, sky blue robes with some sort of insignia on the chest. He stopped next to the car and fixed them all with a stern look.

" _Parlez-vous Francais_?" he asked them sharply.

"Uh, _un petit peu_ ," said Alaw uncertainly and the wizard frowned at her.

"English?" he tried and they all nodded. " _Bien s_ _û_ _r_ , I am Captain Chevalier, there was very much magic here last night."

"Um, yes, that was us, sorry," said Hermione. She looked extremely sheepish as the Captain turned his fierce gaze onto her directly and Alaw scrambled to explain.

"We were attacked by a Dementor, we had to use our wands to defend ourselves. But we weren't near any muggles at the time."

The Captain's frown deepened but Alaw could tell he was more confused than angry now.

" _Pardon_ , my English is not good, you say, Dementor? What is this?"

Alaw had no idea what Dementor might be in French and she looked at the boys helplessly but they merely shrugged and shook their heads. The Captain seemed to come to a decision.

" _D'accord, tu viens avec moi_ , ah, to the station. I will find a translator."

 _We appear to be being arrested_ , thought Alaw glumly as the Captain waved his wand and all their belongings packed themselves away neatly into the trunk of the car. The windows also repaired themselves and some of the dents in the bumper popped out. Well, maybe this wasn't the end of the world. She was sure once they were able to explain themselves properly they would be free to go. No idiot was going to charge them for defending themselves.

And so that was how they found themselves, two hours later, squashed onto a bench in the local gendarmerie. The Captain had rode in the front of the Ford Anglia with Alaw, directing her down the country lanes until they reached the nearest wizarding village. It was little more than a tiny hamlet with only half a dozen buildings as far as Alaw could see. The local Auror station consisted of a single building which doubled as a post office. Captain Chevalier and a heavily pregnant Sergeant called Leroux were the only Aurors on duty. She had a little more English than her Captain and so together they had been able to jot down a statement.

"So," the Captain said, glancing down at the parchment in front of him. "You say you were attacked by a Détraqueur, _pardon, two_ Détraqueur?"

They all nodded obediently.

"And you used the Patronus charm to get rid of them?"

More nods. The Captain signed the bottom of the parchment and then turned it around so that the four of them could do the same. Whilst they were busy doing that, he took out his wand and then selected Alaw's from the table. He placed them tip to tip and muttered a spell under his breath. At once, a small cloud of silver smoke rose from the point where the two wands met and twisted into the shape of a dragon. The Captain, looking mildly impressed, gave her the wand back and sat down again.

"Well, that seems to check out. And no muggles saw you so there's no harm done. I suppose we need to investigate this attack now. Never had Dementors in this area before."

As the Captain mulled this over the four Brits exchanged hopeful looks.

"So, are we free to go?" asked Hermione and the Captain jerked out of his reverie.

"Oh, _oui bien s_ _û_ _r,_ yes you can go. Just give Leroux your home address on the way out."

He pulled out more pieces of parchment and started drawing up his report, so Alaw and the others all got up and shuffled out of his office. Once out into the main room they each let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, that could have been a lot worse," Neville muttered. "But they seem more worried about the Dementors than anything we did."

"Of course they're worried, who wouldn't be? All the Dementors are supposed to be locked up in Azkaban and under the control of various Ministries. They don't just wonder around the countryside."

"Or haunt castles," Alaw reminded them and all four of them shuddered at the memory of the monster which had stalked the corridors of Hogwarts in their first year. "Anyway, it's obvious why the Dementors were here, isn't it?"

Alaw lowered her voice, even though they were alone in the post office with no one but half a dozen sleepy owls for company.

" _He_ sent them didn't he? Voldemort."

The boys winced and Ron gave her a sharp whack on the arm.

"Stop saying that!" he hissed. The girls ignored him as usual. Hermione was shaking her head.

"Dumbledore warned Fudge this would happen!" she said darkly. "He warned him that the Dementors would defect, and he was right! It's been, what, two months? And they've already joined him! Well at least now Fudge will have to listen."

She stopped talking abruptly as Sergeant Leroux came in from a room behind the long counter, holding a letter.

" _Pardon_ , which one of you is Alaw Jones?" she asked and Alaw raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Um, me."

Leroux held out the letter to her.

"This came a few minutes ago whilst you were with the Captain. It's from London."

Alaw's first, panicked thought was that Dumbledore had finally found a way to bypass the anti-tracking charm. But then she took a proper look at the letter and her feeling of dread increased. The parchment was thick and had an official feel to it and when she flipped the envelope over she saw the seal of the Ministry of Magic stamped there. After breaking this, she tugged the letter out anxiously and read the short missive quickly, her eyes darting from one side of the page to the other.

 _Dear Miss Jones,_

 _The Ministry has received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty three minutes to five (local time) this morning in a Muggle-inhabited area. This is a severe breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and Section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statue of Secrecy. Your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9am on the 20_ _th_ _of July. You should consider yourself suspended from Hogwarts School until that time, when a permanent decision shall be made._

 _Yours Sincerely_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk_

 _Improper Use of Magic Office_

 _Ministry of Magic_

Alaw read the message through again to make sure she understood it properly, then lowered it, feeling faintly sick.

"Neville," she said. "You know how you said this could have been a lot worse? Well it got worse."

O

It was a long drive back to Calais and Hermione ranted the entire way about the injustice of it all. Alaw didn't say anything much, her brain was whirring as she tried to come up with a plan. Her parents weren't expecting her back in Beddgelert before the end of the summer. The plan had been for them to meet up with her in London for a few days at the end of July before she caught the train back to school. It was probably best to let them think she was still in France for the time being. But that was the easy part, Alaw was at a loss for what to do about the rest of it. Any reasonable committee wouldn't even give her a caution under the circumstances, but the Ministry would surely find any excuse to expel her. And what then? They would snap her wand and she would have to go back to living life as a muggle. Until Lord Voldemort hunted her down of course.

Alaw was barely aware of the chaos of Customs, or the flickering lights as they zoomed through the Channel Tunnel. She was only brought out of her reverie when Hermione asked where she thought they should go next. Ron was back behind the wheel and he had successfully navigated them off the Shuttle and now they were driving along the road out of the station.

"I think we should pull in here and get something to eat," Alaw decided, pointing to a road veering off towards a service station.

Ron directed the car towards this and somehow managed to ease it into a parking spot without hitting either of the cars next to them. Alaw glanced at her phone as they all got out of the Ford Anglia. It was late in the evening now and they were all a little cranky from being cooped up for so long. They needed food, and they needed to find somewhere to stay for the night, then in the morning they would work out where to go from there.

"So where do you want to eat? I'm starving!" Ron yawned, stretching as he did so as if he had been the one driving for nine hours, not Hermione.

"Of course you are Ronald, some things never change."

All four of them whipped around at the sound of Mr Weasley's voice. There he stood, wearing not only a frown but a mismatched collection of muggle clothes, including a floral Hawaiian shirt and pink crocs. And he wasn't alone. Professor Lupin was standing beside him, as well as two others Alaw didn't recognise. One was a woman, not much older than they were by the looks of things, with purple hair. The other was altogether more frightening. He was lopsided, perhaps because he had a wooden stump instead of a left leg, his face was entirely covered in scars and he had a huge chunk of his nose missing. But the most bizarre thing was the electric blue glass eye he had. Alaw could tell it wasn't a real eye because of the way it kept whizzing around in its socket.

"Dad, what –" Ron began but Mr Weasley had already strode forward and drawn his youngest son into a tight hug.

"Thank goodness you're back, your mother is mad with worry! You are in a world of trouble young man, are you hurt?"

He was now holding Ron at arm's length and looking terribly anxious.

"Dad, I'm fine, we're fine. But how did you find us?"

"The Ministry revoked your anti-tracking charm," growled the man with the glass eye. "And once we found out how you got out of the country, it didn't take a genius to work out how you'd come back."

The man's voice was as menacing as his appearance and he and his companions came over to join them next the car. The muggles walking past were shooting them curious glances but they all scurried away when the man turned his gaze onto them. Mr Weasley introduced them.

"This is Alastor Moody, he's an ex-Auror and an old friend of Dumbledore's. And this is Nymphadora Tonks,"

"Current Auror, and it's just Tonks, nice to finally meet you all," said the woman good-naturedly with a pronounced Yorkshire accent.

"We've come to take you all somewhere safe," said Professor Lupin sternly.

He was giving Alaw a particularly hard look, as if she had disappointed him deeply and she kept her gaze fixed guiltily on her shoes.

"Yes, the sooner we get out of the open, the better. If we could find you, you can bet anything the Death Eaters are on the way too. Now, you lot, get back in that car right now, Arthur's driving," said Moody.

The four truants piled into the back seat of the Ford Anglia. This wasn't as impossible as it sounded, given that the car magically expanded once they were inside. The young woman, Tonks, also joined them whilst Mr Weasley sat himself down in the driver's seat and Moody and Lupin somehow managed to squeeze into the passenger seat. Alaw kept staring at the floor as Mr Weasley wheeled them back out of the car park and onto the motorway.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

"London, and that's all you need to know for now," said Moody. He had his wand out and he was glaring out of the window. "Thought you were clever giving us the slip, but you're under out protection now."

Hermione shared a worried glance with Alaw who nodded pointedly at her phone and began typing a text.

 _Let me and Ron take the blame for this, pretend you didn't know anything._

Hermione glanced down at her phone as it buzzed and after reading the text she gave a tiny nod, a slight frown creasing her forehead. Then she quickly turned the screen black as Tonks peered curiously at it. Alaw leant her head against the window and closed her eyes, allowing the movement of the car to lull her into a doze. She might as well rest now before having the telling off of a lifetime once they got to wherever they were going.

After managing to sleep almost the entire way to London, Alaw was nudged awake by Ron. Her head had lolled over to rest on his shoulder but he didn't seem to mind, Hermione was similarly dozing against Neville.

"Al, wake up," Ron murmured. Alaw groaned and blinked a few times in the orange glare of the street lamps passing outside the car. Mr Weasley was trying to park but he mounted the pavement ungracefully and they all jolted in their seats.

"For god's sake Arthur, why don't you try and be more conspicuous?" Moody complained, already getting out of the car and gazing around the deserted street suspiciously.

"There's no one here, Alastor, and we're parked two streets away as you requested," said Mr Weasley patiently, also opening his door and stepping into the street.

There were standing in a very run down area of London, though the terrace houses looked large and old, they clearly hadn't yet been subject to gentrification. Instead of fancy townhouses, these looked to be divided into flats and squats. There were a couple of overflowing skips nearby and most of the walls had been heavily gratified. Mr Weasley walked around the car to pop open the boot and Alaw moved to pick up her backpack containing her clothes and toiletries.

"Just take what you need for tonight," Mr Weasley advised as Hermione and the boys gathered around. "You can leave the tents and what not, we'll sort them out in the morning."

Moody was already leading the way down the street and Mr Weasley quickly locked the car and chivvied the young ones along. Lupin and Tonks had their wands out and were keeping an eye out for trouble. As it turned out there wasn't a soul in sight, though they heard rap music coming from an upstairs room of one of the houses, and two people arguing and swearing at each other from another. After a couple of turns they came upon a small square of unkempt grass which was strewn with empty crisp packets and crumpled beer cans. Alaw read the street sign as they passed it, Grimmauld Place.

 _How appropriate_ , she thought grimly. Moody held out a gnarled hand and they all stopped in their tracks as he turned to face them.

"Right, you lot, get over here," he muttered and the four friends shuffled forwards. Moody was holding a piece of paper and he evidently wanted them all to read it. Alaw squinted in the darkness, only half the street lamps were working and the closest one was flickering annoyingly.

 _The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

The moment they were done reading, Alaw heard a scraping noise and she turned her head to see that the row of houses next to them was moving. Or rather, a new house was sliding into view between numbers eleven and thirteen. After two years in the wizarding world, Alaw still wasn't quite accustomed to seeing fantastical things and they always brought a smile to her face. This was quite something to behold. She doubted the muggles on either side of the new house felt or heard a thing as it muscled its way in between them.

"Alright, let's get inside, quick!" Lupin murmured. Alaw followed him up the stone steps to the front door which was painted black and had a rusty number twelve set over the enormous snake-shaped knocker.

Lupin tapped the door with his wand once and from inside the house came several metallic clicks and the clatter of a chain, then a bolt being drawn back. The door creaked open and Alaw was able to step across the threshold into a dark hallway. The first thing that struck Alaw was the smell, the house reeked of damp and rot, it was the stench of a place which had been abandoned for years. Once they were all inside the door was quickly shut behind them and the locks could be heard clicking back into place. Alaw then blinked as old fashioned gas lamps hissed into life all around them and she was able to get a proper look at where she was. The hallway was long and quite wide, though most of it was taken up by a wooden staircase.

This place may once have been grand, but the carpet was now threadbare and the wall paper was peeling away at the corners. Most of it was covered in portraits of sleeping witches and wizards but between these were large patches of the damp Alaw had detected. Hanging from the ceiling was a cobwebbed chandelier shaped like serpents. Remembering the knocker, Alaw frowned at this. The Slytherin motif wasn't something she'd expected to find in the headquarters of the anti-Voldemort movement. Lupin was now facing them all.

"Now, before we go any further, I need to warn you all to keep your voices down in this hall," he whispered.

Alaw's frown deepened and she looked around the hallway again. She heard something scuttling behind the skirting board and hoped it was just mice and not something more dangerous. There was a door to the right of the stairs which suddenly opened to reveal Mrs Weasley. She looked a lot paler than she normally did, though that may have just been the odd light of the lamps. When she saw the newcomers her hand flew to her heart and she strode across the hall to hug Ron as her husband had done.

"Thank goodness! Oh when I heard about the Dementor I was so worried, oh Ron!"

Alaw's feeling of guilt redoubled when she realised Mrs Weasley had tears in her eyes as she embraced her youngest son. Ron was obviously feeling something along the same lines because his face had gone bright red.

"We're fine mum, we're all fine," he muttered, hugging her back as her silent sobs grew worse.

Mr Weasley drew his wife away and Mrs Weasley wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Well, he's arrived, the meeting's started," she whispered to Lupin, Tonks and Moody who all moved off towards the door she had just come through. Alaw felt the need to say something,

"Mrs Weasley, I –" she began but Mrs Weasley raised a hand to silence her.

"We can have a little chat after the meeting. But for now you all need to go upstairs and be patient. We'll have dinner later too. Ginny and the twins are in the first room off the first floor landing, they'll explain a bit more to you I don't doubt."

The four friends turned uncertainly and mounted the stairs whilst the Weasley parents watched them go.

"I feel terrible," Alaw groaned the moment they had both disappeared through the door.

"Me too," Ron muttered.

Neville and Hermione didn't say anything until they reached the landing when Neville grabbed Ron's arm and asked him, very seriously.

"You didn't tell your mum and dad we were going to France, did you?"

Ron glanced at Alaw wretchedly, then shook his head. Neville gave the pair of them a look Alaw had never seen before. He was angry, and hurt, and something else she couldn't identify.

"Why? And why didn't you tell Hermione and me?" he asked stonily.

"Because mum and dad would never have let me go!" Ron blurted out. "And then they would have told Dumbledore and he would never have let you guys go either!"

"And we didn't tell you because we wanted you to have plausible deniability. This way, you won't get into trouble," Alaw finished. Neville turned his frown directly onto her.

"Don't you trust us or something? We're your friends, Al! There's no need for you to lie, we worked it out weeks ago. Dumbledore told you to stay home, didn't he? But you decided to go on holiday instead, and fair enough, I don't blame you. But you should have told us instead of sneaking around like this."

Alaw wasn't enjoying this telling off at all but she was saved from further recriminations when the door next to the opened and Ginny poked her head out.

"Are you lot done whispering out here?" she asked with a grin. "Cause we can't quite hear you through the keyhole so it would be easier if you just came inside."

She stood aside and waved them all into the room. It held two beds and not much else, clearly this house wasn't properly furnished. Fred and George were perched on the windowsill and upon seeing Alaw they began to clap.

"Aha! The jailbirds return to the nest, bravo fair Slytherin, we salute you," said Fred, getting up and sweeping a flamboyant bow.

"Yeah, we thought we were brave, but you really take the biscuit," said George admiringly. "I didn't think you'd actually get the better of old Dumbledore, but you did it kiddo. So proud."

He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye and Alaw tisked, though she gave a small smile. Hermione wasn't as impressed with their antics and asked anxiously,

"Have they all been _really_ worried?"

"Mum has, the others calmed down a bit once Sirius told them you'd only gone on holiday. Though Dumbledore had a right go at Mundungus. He was supposed to be following you but you gave him the slip in Dover," said Ginny as she flopped onto one of the beds. She and the twins shared meaningful looks and Fred gave a low whistle.

"Never seen Dumbledore so angry, I swear, Mundungus must have shit himself," he said with a note of awe in his voice.

Alaw grimaced and sank into a rickety old chair. As worried as she was about Mr and Mrs Weasley, she was nowhere near as afraid of their anger, as she was of Dumbledore's. She imagined she'd be hauled into his presence after this meeting they were all having and she'd have to steel herself for that ordeal. George had taken up the narrative.

"Yeah, I reckon if it hadn't been for that Dementor attack, you could have gone the entire summer without being found. But you need to tell us about that, cause that lot downstairs didn't explain a damn thing and there's only so much you can pick up eavesdropping.

Ron gave his siblings a quick rundown of the attack, concluding with their trip to the Gendarmerie and the letter from the Ministry. The twins and Ginny looked suitable scandalised.

"Gits," Fred growled. "Why is the Ministry getting involved anyway? This happened in France! It should be Paris prosecuting you, not London."

"It's probably cause I'm underage," Alaw groaned, rubbing the heels of her palms into her eyes. She was truly exhausted and hungry, she hoped the meeting wouldn't last much longer. "I think the Ministry takes responsibility for its own citizens if they're under twenty one and commit a crime in another country."

There was a pause as the others all looked at each other and the concern was clear to see on all their faces. Fred was the one to ask the question,

"So, uh, the Hearing, what do you think they'll do? I mean, they can't expel you, you didn't do anything wrong! You were just defending yourself. Would they prefer you just let the Dementor do its thing?"

"I'm sure some of them would," said Alaw darkly. "And I honestly don't know what they'll do. I just – don't know."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **Grimmauld Place**

"So how long do these meetings normally last?" Alaw asked after they'd spent a good hour discussing the upcoming Hearing.

She would rather have not, but she was grateful for the others' suggestions. Hermione had urged her to speak with a solicitor as soon as possible and the Weasleys and Neville had heartily agreed. Now her stomach was gurgling and she was thinking longingly of Mrs Weasley's cooking.

"Well, for a big one like this, usually a couple of hours. We've been watching people arrive all evening and we reckon most of the Order are here. Usually it's about half," said Ginny. Alaw frowned a little.

"Then I take it Dumbledore still isn't letting us little ones join up then?"

Ginny and the Twins pulled sour faces.

"No," Fred sighed. "And whenever we try and point out to mum and dad that we're not a bunch of kids, they just refuse to talk about it. They haven't told us a damn thing, not even Sirius! And he's an alright bloke."

Alaw had been extremely put out at the end of term when Dumbledore had rejected her request to join his resistance. His reason had been pathetic in Alaw's opinion. The headmaster had insisted that she and her friends were too young, that no one would be allowed to join until they finished school and that he was simply trying to protect them for as long as possible.

"I'm calling bullshit on this whole 'too young' bollocks. Dumbledore's never cared about that before!" Alaw griped. "During the last war he had no problem recruiting Sirius and Lupin and their mates whilst they were at school. No there's something else going on here."

"Like what?" Ron asked sceptically. Alaw chewed her lip and glanced around the room, thinking. She had a theory, but she hadn't shared it with anyone before.

"Maybe, maybe Dumbledore doesn't trust us as much. Think about it, Sirius and them lot were die hard Dumbledore fans when they were young, he could get them to do whatever he wanted. But us, we're loose cannons. Maybe he doesn't think he can control us as easily."

There was an uncomfortable silence whilst the others digested this but it was clear from Ron's expression that he wasn't buying it.

"Bloody hell Al, this is Dumbledore we're talking about, not You-Know-Who."

"I'm not saying he wants to control us for bad reasons," Alaw explained hurriedly. "But he's the leader of the Order, and sometimes leaders have to make tough decisions. I'll give you an example, and Hermione you can back me up on this. There's an urban myth that, during the Second World War, the British managed to crack the German code and found out that the Germans were going to bomb Coventry. But instead of protecting it, they let it happen so that the Germans wouldn't know they'd cracked the code. It's probably not true but you see the point. If Dumbledore had to make a tough decision like that during this war, do you think he could trust the likes of us not to go against him?"

Another silence followed her words but this time it was more thoughtful. Ron still looked doubtful but Ginny in particular was nodding and the twins looked at each other shrewdly. Eventually, Neville asked,

"So, what do you think we should do? Because I don't know about you lot, but I don't want to sit on my backside in school whilst other people are out there fighting You-Know-Who."

"Damn straight," Alaw agreed fervently. "We should do anything we can to stop him, even if the _grownups_ don't want us to."

"So what, we should set up our own resistance? Like – Order of the Chicks?" Ron said sarcastically.

"Technically, Phoenixes are just fire when they're young so it'd be the Order of the Flames." Hermione pointed out and Alaw snorted.

"The Flames, sounds like a prog rock band," she muttered. "Anyway, I'd sure like to know what them lot down stairs have been up to these past few weeks. I guess we'll have to start spying on them"

The twins chuckled at these words and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"What do you think we've been doing whilst you lot were dicking around France? When mum hasn't got us scrubbing out this place to make it habitable, we've been trying to listen in on the Order's plans. George, show them."

Alaw, Ron, Hermione and Neville all looked around at George who reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a long, pink, rubbery object that wriggled slightly.

"What the hell is that?" Ron asked with a look of revulsion.

"Extendable Ears," George announced proudly. "Fred and I invented them. You put one end in your ear, as so," He demonstrated. "Then the other end goes under a door or through a key hole and you can hear what people are saying on the other side no problem. Trouble is, Lupin found out and snitched on us to mum who went ballistic and tried to bin them all. Now the kitchen door's been Imperturbed so we can't use the one's we've got left either."

"But we got a fair bit of information before they found out," Fred said eagerly. "We know of about twenty full time Order members but by the sounds of things there are loads of other people involved, informants and what not, who aren't in the inner circle."

 _Kind of like the Death Eaters_ , Alaw couldn't help but think.

"We know some of the members spend a lot of time tracking known Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy's name crops up a lot, and Crabbe and Goyle senior. Look, I've written down all the names of people they talk about as potential Death Eaters," said Ginny, and she rolled onto her stomach and started rooting around under the bed, eventually locating a writing pad and showing it to Alaw.

There were a few names on the short list Alaw recognised, but many that she did not. She made a mental note to ask Ginny for a copy of the list later. Alaw had gotten into the habit of keeping records of her fellow classmates miss-deeds back in first year, to use as blackmail. It had meant Theodore Knott and his gang of cronies had largely left her alone since then. At the start of second year, when everyone had thought Sirius was out to kill Alaw, she'd begun a second file about known Death Eaters, just in case. It looked like she'd be expanding it very soon.

"They're also trying to recruit more people into the Order," said George. "But by the sounds of things it's been tricky because the Ministry is trying its best to discredit Dumbledore."

"Hang on, what?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah you won't have seen the Prophet for a few weeks, here, take a look."

George picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet from the bedside table and handed it to his youngest brother. Ron scanned the front page with a slight frown on his face. All Alaw could see was a dull story about the Galleon rising against the American Dragot.

"Am I missing something or what?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"Page five, idiot," Ginny snorted.

Ron turned to the correct page and after a few moments swore. It also took Alaw a moment to find the article in question, since it was tucked away at the bottom of the page and consisted of a few short paragraphs.

 _ **ALBUS DUMBLEDORE SUSPENDED AS SUPREME MUGWUMP OF THE ICW.**_

"Why is that such a tiny story? Surely it should be on the front page?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Because Fudge leant on the Prophet to keep the thing quiet, according to what we managed to overhear," said Fred. "It was the same when he got sacked from the Wizengamot a few weeks ago too. The Ministry is trying to make people think he's not relevant anymore, that he's gone a bit barmy in his old age and that he's not reliable. It's all because he made a speech to the ICW about a month ago saying that You-Know-Who was back. They didn't even report that! So most of the people here don't even know what's going on."

Alaw felt a chill as she glanced down at the newspaper again. She had told Fudge at the end of term that he was no different from any corrupt muggle politician, and now it seemed to he was proving her right. She hadn't know he had such power over the press but it was quite eerie to behold.

"Damn he's good," she muttered angrily. "And I suppose the Order can't just drive around on a broomstick with a megaphone shouting about Voldemort, or the Ministry will come down on them like a ton of bricks! This sucks."

There were nods of agreement as Alaw folded up the newspaper so she wouldn't have to look at the picture of Fudge shaking hands with the new Supreme Mugwump.

"So, anything else you've managed to pick up?" she asked.

"Well, there is one thing," said Ginny. "They sometimes talk about 'guard duty', and we think it's important because they only talk about it when Dumbledore comes to the meeting. But we haven't been able to pick up much because they're always more careful about keeping us away when it's a big one."

"Guard duty?" Hermione repeated curiously. "You don't suppose they meant us, do you?"

"We're not sure," Ginny shrugged.

Alaw leant back in her chair with a thoughtful expression. She couldn't think what the Order might be guarding, but she was determined to find out. She'd already made a decision that, if she was expelled, she wouldn't simply go back to life as a muggle and wait for Voldemort to catch up to her. She would fight him with or without Dumbledore's permission. Besides, she didn't think she could bear telling her parents she'd been kicked out of university.

O

The kitchen of number twelve Grimmauld Place was a long, underground room with lots of shiny copper pots hanging from the ceiling. It had a large old fashioned oven at one end with was currently cooking that night's dinner and at the other, a set of stairs leading down to a pantry. Not that Alaw had had much chance to look around. She was sitting at the long wooden table in between Hermione and the boys and had been staring at the grain for quarter of an hour as her cheeks grew steadily redder. Mrs Weasley had ordered all four of them to sit down the moment they were called into the kitchen and she hadn't stopped shouting since then. Ron had tried to interrupt a few times, insisting that his friends weren't to blame, but his mother's wroth could not be contained so easily. When she was done berating her son for nearly driving her to distraction, she turned to the others.

"As for you three," she said, "I hope you all understand how foolish you've been. I don't care if you had your parents' permission, Dumbledore told you all to stay home safely. But instead you deliberately put yourselves in danger! I'm just glad you all made it back in one piece! Neville, I have half a mind to write to your grandmother about this!"

Alaw glanced to her left and saw Neville go pale at these words. But it seemed that Mrs Weasley had finally run out of steam and after scolding them all one last time, she moved off to attend to the dinner. That left the four fugitives sitting at the table in a state of slight shock, as if they'd just survived a great storm. The other people in kitchen went back to what they'd been doing before the row had begun, all accept Mr Weasley, who lent down and said quietly,

"We'll say no more about this matter, but I think you understand that you aren't fooling anyone Alaw. You obviously knew Molly and I were being duped. I know you were angry at Dumbledore and maybe you were right to be, but please don't lead your friends into danger again just to prove a point."

Alaw felt as if she wanted the floor to swallow her whole but Mr Weasley had already moved away to help his wife with the food. Ginny was commandeered to put out cutlery and the twins were assigned bread cutting duty. Alaw got up slowly from the table and walked away to the other end of the room where Sirius was leaning against the frame of the pantry door, grinning.

"Well done, you survived," he said, drawing his goddaughter into a one armed hug. After corresponding for most of the summer, they'd grown quite fond of each other.

"Now I've got to get ready for round two," Alaw said grimly. "I suppose Dumbledore will want to shout at me now."

"Dumbledore? He's already gone," said Sirius in surprise. "He left right after the meeting ended."

Alaw blinked and opened her mouth in surprise.

"Oh," she said.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She'd steeled herself for an argument and was now feeling a little cheated. Part of her had wanted to see Dumbledore again and really let rip about the injustice of it all. Her anger with the headmaster had only increased over the summer and she felt he needed to be told what an idiot he was. But now he was gone and Alaw had no one to shout at.

"He's coming back before the trial though, right?" she asked, a little anxiously. "He'll come and give me some advice?"

"I'm sure he will," said Sirius confidently. "And don't you worry about that, this is your first arrest for underage magic, at most it'll be a caution. Practically everyone gets one at some point before they leave school."

Alaw glanced at her godfather sceptically. Sirius had spent twenty years locked in Azkaban prison in the company of hundreds of Dementors. Alaw knew from old pictures she'd seen that Sirius had once been handsome and full of laughter, but now his features were gaunt and even when cheerful there was a haunted look behind his eyes. Though he'd been free for nearly a year now, nothing could hide the trauma. Sirius knew the Ministry wouldn't give her – a troublemaking muggleborn – a fair trial, he was obviously just trying to spare her the worry. Perhaps he realised he hadn't managed to fool her because he put a hand on her shoulder and said, in a more serious voice,

"Dumbledore will help you build a good strong case, he won't let you be expelled. Now come on, let's eat."

Not entirely reassured, Alaw followed him to the table and sat down in time to have a steaming bowl of stew set in front of her. As they ate, Alaw looked around the table with a slight frown, assessing the Order members who had remained behind after the meeting for the meal. Tonks was chatting cheerfully to Ginny and Hermione about her work as an Auror, seeming not to notice that her elbow was resting on her buttered piece of bread. Beside her sat Lupin, deep in discussion with Bill Weasley about goblins and their stance on the war.

"I've been trying to get a straight answer out of Griphook for weeks but he's being a bit difficult. Apparently he's had some sort of financial problems with Bagman so he's feeling very anti-wizard at the moment."

"I don't think the Goblins would join You-Know-Who," Mr Weasley said, shaking his head. "He murdered plenty of them during the last war."

"It all depends on how willing he is to work with other species," Alaw chipped in, making Lupin, Bill and Mr Weasley look around in surprise. "He hates other Beings just as much as he hates muggleborns, but if he was smart about this, he'd hold his nose and work with the Goblins. Having them onside would do some serious damage to the Ministry, seeing how they control Gringotts."

A regal looking black man sitting opposite Lupin raised his head from his goblet and gave Alaw an appraising look.

"Interesting point. But I'm not sure he will hold his nose, he didn't in the last war after all."

Mr Weasley made the introductions.

"Alaw, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, he's one of our new recruits."

"You're an Auror," Alaw said, remembering the name from the Ministry documents she'd taken the time to read last year.

"Yes, I'm head of the taskforce trying to catch Sirius Black, we've got high hopes of finding him in Tibet," said Kingsley solemnly and Alaw's lip curled as she glanced at Sirius.

Further along down the table sat Fred and George who were muttering with a wizard Alaw recognised at once. She'd only seen Mundungus Fletcher once before but she was hardly likely to forget the man who had sold Hagrid his most illegal pet ever. Mundungus was just as dishevelled as he had been then, and even from this distance Alaw could smell the tobacco and heavy drink wafting from him. She nodded towards him,

"What are they talking about I wonder?" she muttered to Sirius who shrugged.

"Something dodgy no doubt, hopefully Molly won't kick up a fuss. She's not a fan of Mundungus ever since he let you lot give him the slip."

"He's a crook isn't he?" Alaw asked softly. "What's he doing in the Order?"

She felt more than a little annoyed that villains who dealt in stolen dragon eggs were welcomed into the Order of the Phoenix whilst she and her friends were left out in the cold.

"He's handy to have around, he hears things we don't in the circles he moves in. And Dumbledore got him off quite a serious charge a few years back so he's very loyal to him."

Ah, loyalty again. Alaw was becoming more and more convinced that her theory about Dumbledore's motives was true. After all, who wanted to have someone they didn't trust in their organisation? Despite all the chatter, there was still a slightly chilly air to the meal. Mrs Weasley was clearly still furious at the whole lot of them and she kept shooting suspicious glances towards the twins. Ron and Neville were concentrating a little too hard on their food and Alaw felt the twinge of guilt again. In hindsight, leading her friends into danger had been foolish in the extreme. But they hadn't expected to encounter any danger, they had been convinced that they'd evaded both Dumbledore and Voldemort. But it was done now, so there was no point crying about it.

When everyone had finished eating and Mrs Weasley had floated all the dirty bowls and cutlery over to the sink for washing, Alaw leant back in her chair and drained the last of her pumpkin juice with a slight grimace. She'd never acquired a taste for the stuff but it was the only thing on offer. Everyone else around the table was yawning and making noises about going to bed but before anyone could get up, Sirius spoke.

"So, Alaw, now that you're here at headquarters, I suppose it's time you were given some of the facts. Stop you going barmy thinking about it."

The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant. Everyone was now tense, and alert, especially the young ones.

"Sirius, Dumbledore said no!" Mrs Weasley cut in at once. "He insisted that no one should be allowed to join until they leave school, and I quite agree."

Despite how much she liked Ron's mother, Alaw couldn't help but shoot her an angry glare. She desperately wanted to say something but Sirius said it for her.

"I'm not saying she should be allowed to join, but it's ridiculous to expect her to stay in this house without being told anything at all. We should at least give her the bare bones of the situation. Dumbledore never said anything about keeping her completely in the dark."

"And since he didn't bother to stick around long enough to talk to me himself, I think it's pretty clear he doesn't care what I get up to," said Alaw sharply. She wasn't sure what made her say it. She'd never been rude to Ron's parents before, but all her frustration at being treated like a child was bubbling to the surface. "Look, I know to you lot I'm still a kid, but I'm not! I'm not like you, I'm muggleborn, and we come of age at eighteen. I can vote and get married and join the army and do whatever the hell I please in the muggle world. Sometimes I hate being a witch! And I won't be told that this is nothing to do with me because it is, whether you like it or not!"

She glared pointedly around the room at the members of the Order. They were all sitting in rather stunned silence at her outburst. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sirius grinning proudly and Lupin was giving him a rather exasperated look. Tonks too, Alaw thought, looked as if she was trying to hide a smile. Kingsley and Moody's expressions were unreadable, and the Weasley parents were exchanging worried looks.

"Alaw, I know it must be frustrating, but we can't just dish out whatever information we like," Mr Weasley said soothingly. "Dumbledore is the head of the Order, it's his decision."

Alaw's resolve only hardened. She glanced towards Hermione, Ron and Neville and thought about their earlier conversation.

"With all due respect, I don't need Dumbledore's permission to fight Voldemort. He's going to try and kill me either way."

There was the usual uncomfortable shiver around the table at the sound of Voldemort's name. Alaw had been most amused back when she first learned that the name was mildly jinxed and that it sent physical pangs of fear through witches and wizards who heard it. It didn't effect muggleborns like herself and Hermione because they hadn't grown up with the jinx and it had a lesser effect on adults. Dumbledore used it freely of course, he was obviously too great and powerful to be bothered by such a tiny thing. And Sirius and Lupin didn't flinch on hearing it either. Sirius had faced the horrors of Azkaban after all, and Lupin had been a werewolf since he was a small child, a silly little jinx was nothing to them.

There was another lengthy pause as Mrs Weasley clearly sought some means of pacifying Alaw but it was Lupin who eventually spoke up.

"Alright, I think perhaps you can be given some information, Alaw. Enough to keep you from resorting to – other means."

It was quite clear from this that he knew not all the Extendable Ears had been confiscated and the twins quickly tried to look as innocent as possible. Mrs Weasley's face fell and she looked around the table for allies, but found none. Finally she sighed.

"Fine, I think it's a mistake, but fine. Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione, Neville, up to bed now."

The fury that erupted at these words was perfectly predictable. All the young ones started speaking over each other, the tone ranging from begging to demanding. Alaw gave a low hiss in Parseltongue which only Sirius and Hermione heard and the latter turned her head in surprise. Alaw widened her eyes and gave Hermione a _look_. Hermione took the hint and elbowed Ron and Neville to make them shut up, muttering low in their ears. Ron gave a huff.

"Fine, we'll go to bloody bed," he griped, pushing back his chair angrily and stomping to the kitchen door. Hermione and Neville followed him and after a little more argument, the twins and Ginny were also packed off upstairs. Mrs Weasley went with them, perhaps to make sure they didn't try and eavesdrop, and once the kitchen door had closed behind her, Sirius turned to Alaw.

"So, what do you want to know?"

Alaw frowned as she considered this question. The others had already filled her in adequately on the basics of the Order's activities, so she asked something more specific.

"Do you know where Voldemort's set up his base of operations?"

Sirius opened his mouth to answer but then closed it again, glancing at the other Order members. Perhaps he didn't trust himself not to give too much away.

"We've got a good idea," growled Moody. "The place is under heavy protection though so there's no point attacking it. Very strong, very old enchantments."

"One of his Death Eaters' houses?" Alaw guessed and there were reluctant nods. Well, that wasn't news, Dumbledore had told her as much when he took her to place protective enchantments around her family home. "And what about Voldemort himself then? What are his plans?"

"At the moment, the same as us, recruitment. He'll want to build up his strength before he takes on the Ministry. In the last war, he had his core group of Death Eaters, usually no more than about twenty or so individuals of varying importance. Then add to that hundreds more witches and wizards who were either loyal to his cause or had been Imperiused or otherwise coerced into working for him. Usually as hired thugs or informants. Then of course he had all manner of dark creatures he used to spread terror among the general population, Dementors, giants and so forth."

Alaw avoided glancing at Lupin at this point. Having studied the last war, she knew Voldemort had had a pretty loyal following of werewolves, people who had been shunned to the edges of society for so long that they were easily won over with promises of a better life. She shook off the disturbing thought and asked her next question.

"So the Ministry is still refusing to believe he's back then?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Mr Weasley sadly. "Fudge is absolutely convinced that Dumbledore is just stirring up trouble to destabilise the Ministry and steal his job. It's making things incredibly difficult for us, the press has been told not to report a word Dumbledore says about You-Know-Who. Of course, plenty of people whose children heard his speech at Hogwarts know the general story by now, it's impossible to keep a secret in a community as small as ours. But because it hasn't appeared in the paper or on the wireless, most witches and wizards don't think it's legitimate."

"Sheep," Alaw snorted contemptuously. "Just like muggles I guess. Our politicians do it too, it's called fake news. Flood the internet with conflicting stories, create some noise, and no one knows what's true anymore. It's usually quite effective. Means every idiot in office can deny anything he or she wants."

Alaw shook her head and then frowned around at all the members again.

"So, that's it? All Voldemort's doing is recruiting new followers? That doesn't sound like him, come on he has to be doing something else? No murders or kidnappings?"

"Too much activity would alert the Ministry," Sirius explained. "They're not all as stupid as Fudge. People like Amelia Bones and Barty Crouch know something's going on and they'll have their ears pressed to the ground. And – there's another reason Voldemort's been quiet lately."

There was a slight rustle from the other people in the room at these words and Alaw looked intently at her godfather.

"What reason?" she asked eagerly. Sirius licked his lips and then continued.

"He's got other things on his mind, other plans he can put into motion very quietly."

"What plans?" Alaw pressed.

"Sirius," Moody grunted warningly. Sirius looked for a second like he was going to listen but then his eyes hardened and he ploughed on.

"We know that he's after something, an – object – something he didn't have last time."

"No!" cried Mrs Wealsey making them all jump. Alaw hadn't noticed her come back in because she'd been skulking by the door the entire time. "Sirius, that is enough. Dumbledore said on no account should you tell her about that."

Alaw growled in frustration and looked appealingly at Sirius but he grimaced and shook his head.

"Fine, fine, Al, that's enough for tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note – Thank you for the kind review DCV2AVP, I was expecting to get to the Hearing in this chapter but other things got in the way, but it will definitely be in the next one.**

 **Chapter Four**

 **Preparations**

When Alaw awoke the next morning she stared up at the dirty, damp stained ceiling of her bedroom with a feeling of dread. She shared the room with Hermione and Ginny but judging from their slow breathing, they were both still asleep. Five days, there were only five days until the hearing and she didn't have a clue what to do about it. She'd never been in trouble with the law before, she didn't know how to build a case, or who to turn to for advice. Everyone at dinner had been quite vague about it, as if they thought the hearing was just a formality and there was no real chance of her being expelled. Well, maybe that would be true if she was a Pureblood, but she wasn't, and the Ministry was desperate to get rid of her anyway on top of her unfortunate birth. Alaw rolled over and groped for her phone automatically to check her messages, but was disappointed to find it was dead.

Of course, it was a miracle it'd lasted this long. With a sigh she put the phone down and sat up, yawing silently then rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palms. She'd have to go out and find a café with charging ports, not a difficult task here in London. Alaw quietly picked her way around the room, getting dressed then shutting herself in the tiny bathroom to prepare for the day. The sink and toilet were made of chipped porcelain and the taps were flecked with green tarnishing. This entire house seemed to be on the verge of collapse and Alaw wondered why the Order had chosen to hunker down here and not somewhere – cleaner. It couldn't possibly be the home of one of its members, it didn't feel like it had been lived in for years, possibly decades.

The stairs creaked as she made her way down to the kitchen and the portraits that lined the walls snuffled in their sleep. Then Alaw came across something truly disturbing on the first floor landing that she hadn't noticed last night. A glass case, containing several shrunken heads. She'd seen heads before in museums but these had huge, bat-like ears and the proportions of the eyes, mouths and noses were all wrong. There wasn't a label to explain the gruesome display so Alaw just pulled a face at it before moving on.

Down in the kitchen there were several people already awake and eating breakfast. Sirius and Lupin were there, discussing something in low voices and stopping abruptly when Alaw came in. Mr Weasley looked like he was about to set off for work because he was finishing off his coffee and using his wand to fix his tie.

"See you all at dinner," he said, kissing Mrs Weasley on the cheek on his way out.

"What would you like for breakfast, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked Alaw who contemplated the little knot of anxiety in her stomach.

"I'll just have some toast, thanks," she decided, sitting down beside Sirius and reaching for the rack in the middle for the table.

"Alright, if you're sure dear, but you might want to eat something more substantial because we've got a busy day ahead of us."

Alaw frowned as she spread butter on the toast and poured herself a glass of water, ignoring the vile pumpkin juice.

"Why, what are we doing?" she asked in an undertone and Sirius scowled.

"Molly thinks we should tackle the drawing room today," he growled. "Apparently the curtains are full of doxies."

"Why is this place so disgusting? Who's house is it anyway?" Alaw asked. So far, the kitchen seemed to be the only room she'd come across that wasn't falling to pieces. Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise and gave her a rueful smile.

"It's mine," he said. "Well, actually it's the Black family home. Both my parents are dead so it's mine now. No one's lived here for years so I offered it to Dumbledore as headquarters. My father placed all sorts of protective enchantments on the place so it was ideal really. I was just glad I could do something useful."

Sirius' tone of voice was quite bitter and Alaw frowned at him. Perhaps she wasn't the only one pissed off at the headmaster at the moment, though she couldn't think what Sirius had to be grumpy about.

"I'm sorry," she said, "About your mum and dad. Did they get to visit you in Azkaban before they passed?"

To her surprise Sirius gave a bark of laughter.

"Ha! My parents hated me Al, and I hated them. They were Pureblood elitists of the worst kind, huge Voldemort supporters. Not actual Death Eaters but I know they contributed plenty of funds to the cause. Then I came along and proved to be the family disgrace from a young age. I ran away from home when I was sixteen."

"Oh," Alaw said, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Sorry, I didn't realise. Where did you go?"

"James' place, we'd been friends since we were kids. All the Pureblood families like their sons and daughters to mingle before they get to Hogwarts, start making connections early. But the Potters were new money and didn't have any of that 'wizards first' mentality, I was always welcome in their house."

Alaw tried to picture her godfather as a teenager, wild and rebellious, and she kept coming up with a mental image of him in ripped jeans and a leather jacket, channelling the punk rock vibe. As she sniggered Sirius cocked his head.

"What's so funny?" he asked and Alaw grinned.

"Nothing, just reminds me of a mate of mine in Slytherin. Cameron Boyle, first time I met him I thought he was a muggleborn cause he had an ACDC tattoo, then the next year he got an earring and a lip stud. He did it to freak his dad out."

Sirius smiled as he raised his mug to his lips.

"Good for him," he said firmly and Lupin nodded in agreement.

Three quarters of an hour later when everyone had finally stirred from their beds and had some breakfast, Mrs Weasley took them all up to the drawing room. Lupin managed to get out of it by saying he had important business to attend to and Sirius gave him a scathing look as he disappeared out the door. Like the rest of the house, the drawing room had obviously once been grand, but had now fallen into decay. It was a long room with a dusty, faded carpet and the walls were a dark colour, covered in mildew. When Alaw looked closer, she saw that they were covered in silk wallpaper. At the far end was a large window covered by the doxy infested curtains.

"Right, everyone cover up, I don't want any of you getting bitten," Mrs Weasley instructed. "Then you each need to take a spray and start squirting on my count. It'll knock the doxies out, and you can put them in this bucket."

Alaw gave her godfather a reluctant look as she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and wrapped a scarf around the lower half of her face. When there was no inch of flesh exposed, she picked up one of the sprays, which had wide nozzles, and pointed it like a gun at the curtains.

"Everyone ready? Three, two, one, spray!" Mrs Weasley cried.

Alaw squirted the curtains with harsh smelling liquid and at once half a dozen doxies flew out, buzzing like angry wasps. They'd handled doxies in Care of Magical Creatures but all Alaw could remember about that lesson was Pansy Parkinson getting bitten and having to go the hospital wing with an arm swollen to twice it's normal size. Alaw panicked as a dozy came zooming towards her so she instinctively walloped the creature with her spray. It fell to the ground in a daze and she quickly squirted it until it went still.

"Horrible things," Hermione said with a shudder, tossing a doxy into the bucket where it thudded heavily.

They did battle with the doxies for most of the morning as they had a habit of pretending to be stunned and then trying to bite Alaw as she bent to pick them up. Fred and George weren't being much help either since they were trying to hide some of the clobbered doxies in their pockets behind their mother's back. When Alaw raised an eyebrow at them, George lent in.

"We're developing a new line of products," he muttered in an undertone. "Doxy venom's dead useful but almost impossible to get hold of."

Sirius was also being next to useless as he obviously had no real interest in fighting the doxies and after a while he wandered off downstairs. Around noon, Mrs Weasley called for a halt and they all stood there gazing at the now limp curtains. The air absolutely stank from the fumes of the spray and Alaw felt like it would probably cling to their clothes and hair for several days.

"Well that's much better," panted Mrs Weasley, stripping off her gloves and scarf. "We'll have lunch now, and then afterwards we can start clearing out those cabinets in the corner."

At that moment, the doorbell rang downstairs and Alaw jumped out of her skin as the most horrible shrieking rang through the house.

"What the hell is that?!" she asked in shock.

"Sirius' mum," said Ginny grimly. "Her portrait's behind those curtains in the hall, it freaks out the moment anyone makes any noise."

The voice was now shrieking the most horrible slurs that floated up the stairs and through the half open doors of the drawing room.

" _Mudbloods! Mudbloods and filth my house! Get out you dirt veined scum_!"

"Charming," Alaw snorted.

"How many times have I told them not to ring the bell?!" Mrs Weasley cried despairingly. "You lot, stay in here, I'll have sandwiches sent up in a minute."

She hurried over to the doors and disappeared, closing them behind them and stifling the screaming. At once, the young ones dashed to the window and peered down at the street below. They could see a mop of ginger hair and a tottering pile of cauldrons.

"Mundungus," Fred snorted. "Of course, nothing important then. Mum's going to absolutely kill him if those cauldrons are nicked."

They kept craning their necks to see if there was anyone else down on the street, but Mundungus appeared to be alone. They could hear muffled shouting downstairs as people attempted to quieten then portrait, and after a few moments, silence fell. Down below, the front door opened and Mundungus staggered over the threshold with his load and there was nothing else to see.

"Don't bother, he's only come to stash some stolen goods I'll bet," said Sirius' voice and they all whipped around to find that he had re-entered the room. He was looking at them all with an amused expression.

"I thought it might be Dumbledore," sighed Alaw, sliding off the window seat and wandering over to the cabinets they would soon be clearing. "I was hoping he'd drop by and give me some advice about this hearing."

"I'm sure he will," said Hermione, who also came to look at the cabinets. "Sirius, do you know what's in these?"

"No idea, something foul no doubt," Sirius sneered, giving the cabinets, and the whole room in fact, a look of dislike.

Alaw's gaze travelled away from the trinkets on display to the wall next to it, and lingered there. A large, faded tapestry was hanging there, depicting an intricately woven family tree. At the top was a motto, _Toujours Pur_.

"Always pure?" she said aloud, her nose wrinkling slightly in disgust.

"Told you they were nutters," Sirius said, stretching carelessly. "Complete bollocks of course, every family has its fair share of black sheep. Look there," he pointed to a little black burn mark near the bottom of the tapestry. "That was me, until dear old mum blasted me off. That's what happens to anyone who dishonours the name of Black."

"Sirius, that's terrible!" Hermione cried.

Alaw studied the tapestry with great interest. There were several names she recognised on the lower branches, people whose children she attended Hogwarts with. Her eyes traced the line connecting Sirius' mother, Walburga, to Cygnus Black, and another burn mark. She pointed to it.

"What did they do?"

Sirius reluctantly drew near the tapestry and peered at it.

"Oh, that was my uncle Alphard, life-long bachelor, which is the code the old families use when someone turns out to be a queer."

Alaw and Hermione winced at the dated term and Alaw felt the need to jab her godfather sharply in the ribs with her elbow.

"Sirius, unless you're actually gay, don't say that word again. You sound just like my great-grandad," she said with a shudder. Sirius ignored her and continued.

"Anyway, Alphard was always a decent enough bloke and he gave me some cash when I ran away from this dump. Mum apparently never forgave him. Oh and look there, poor Andromeda's off too, my favourite cousin."

Alaw looked down and below name of Cygnus were three daughters, and the middle child had indeed been expunged.

"Andromeda married a muggle, Ted, nice guy, and had Tonks. So Tonks is actually my cousin."

But Alaw wasn't paying attention, she was gazing at the other daughters of Cygnus. Bellatrix, the eldest, and Narcissa, the youngest. Narcissa was connected to Lucius Malfoy by a golden thread to indicate a marriage, and below them was a single name. Alaw reached out and touched it lightly without fully realising what she was doing.

"Draco," she said softly, a tangible tone of regret in her voice.

Draco, her friend, someone she doubted she would ever have a civil conversation with again. Their secret friendship had been exhilarating whilst it lasted, but the other Slytherins had grown suspicious, as had his father, and after that the pair had hardly been able to look at each other in public, let alone talk. Now that Voldemort was back it would be suicidal for Draco to be anywhere near a mudblood like herself. Hermione sighed exasperatedly and gave Alaw a pat on the shoulder and Sirius glanced down at his goddaughter with a slight frown.

"You pals or something?" he asked jokingly and Alaw shrugged.

"He has excellent taste in books," was all she said, before moving away from the tapestry.

Mrs Weasley brought up a tray of food and a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice for them all to munch on before they started their assault on the room anew. A lot of the objects contained within the glass fronted cabinets were very reluctant to leave. Sirius sustained a bad bite from a silver snuffbox and he swore colourfully as he threw it into a bag to be binned. There was also a strange, silver instrument that had many legs that scuttled up Hermione's arm and tried to swipe at her eyes but Alaw thwacked it away with a heavy book, and it too went in the bag. Ron pulled out a beautiful little music box that played an eerie tune that had them all yawning and swaying, until Ginny had the presence of mind to slam it shut. Fred spent a good five minutes trying to prize open a pretty locket with a green enamel S on the front, but it was no good. It too went in the bag.

By the time the room was clear they were all exhausted and covered in little scratches and bruises. Mrs Weasley didn't make them feel any better by saying they'd be moving to the dining room the next day and Alaw tried her best to weasel out of it by saying she needed to start preparing her case for the hearing.

"Oh don't be silly dear, it's only a hearing. All you have to do is tell your side of the story and it'll all blow over. You don't need to present evidence or anything like that," Mrs Weasley said with a kind smile.

But this only served to annoy Alaw. No one seemed to be taking the issue seriously apart from herself and Hermione. Even the Weasleys and Neville were quite nonchalant about the whole affair, as if they thought being expelled for defending oneself was a ridiculous idea. Well it wasn't to Alaw, to her it sounded horribly possible. So, that evening after dinner, she and Hermione sat down at the kitchen table with a notebook and pen to start formulating a plan.

"I studied a bit of law during my A Levels," said Hermione, pen poised to jot down notes. "That was what I wanted to do before my Hogwarts letter came, but I'm afraid I'm no expert. I think it really is worth going into the Ministry to speak to a solicitor, if only to get some tips. Does the Ministry have something like citizens advice?"

She directed this last at Mr Weasley who was sitting a little way away, reading the Daily Prophet. He looked up in surprise.

"Oh, I don't know," he said slowly. "The Wizengamot has defence lawyers for hire of course, but they're very expensive. I don't think you can just go in and ask for help without paying some sort of fee. But you really are over thinking this girls."

Alaw and Hermione frowned at him before going back to their notepad.

"Ok, first thing we need to do is research how to put together a defence, it can't be too different from how muggle courts work," said Alaw and Hermione dutifully jotted it down. "And, I think I should write to that Auror who took our statements in France. He can confirm my side of the story and the Ministry will have a harder time calling him a liar."

Mr Weasley just shook his head in bemusement as the girls got started on their letter to Captain Chevalier, a lengthy process that involved a lot of crossings out and urgent whispers. Once Alaw was happy with the wording she addressed the envelope in her neatest handwriting and entrusted it to Mr Weasley, who solemnly vowed to post it the next morning. Before they all went to bed, Alaw waylaid Ron's mother.

"Mrs Weasley, I know you said you needed help in the dining room tomorrow, but we really _really_ need to work on this. You'll have to excuse Hermione and me."

Mrs Weasley seemed about to reassure her with empty words again but perhaps the determined expression on Alaw's face dissuaded her, and she merely nodded with a sigh.

O

Besides her wand, the only item Alaw never went anywhere without was her invisibility cloak. It had been a gift from Lupin in her first year, his way of helping her avoid the attention of Theodore Knott's gang. Since then it had proved invaluable and Alaw didn't know what she would do without it. She certainly wouldn't have been able to sneak out of Grimmauld Place. Whilst most of the house's inhabitants thought she and Hermione were closeted in their room, in reality they were slipping out of the front door.

"Right, where did you say this place was?" Alaw asked once they had reached the end of the street and felt it was safe enough to take off the cloak.

"Camden Town, that's what it said on the website," said Hermione, peering around for a sign pointing them in the direction of the train station.

It was only a short journey to Camden, and then a further ten minute walk to their destination. They almost walked past the café because there was nothing particularly wizarding in its appearance, but then, that was the whole point. Tucked away between the other shops on the street, there was nothing to make it stand out other than its name, The Mended Cauldron. Alaw and Hermione walked over the threshold to find a cozy room filled with modern décor and the smell of coffee. The walls were covered in posters from sci-fi and fantasy franchises and there was a sign behind the counter which read,

 _No Magic is permitted on these premises (no seriously, it messes with the Wi-Fi)._

Alaw snorted just as a young woman with close cropped, purple hair and multiple nose and ear piercings came in from the kitchen.

"Can I help you girls?" she asked and Hermione said,

"Um, yes, we heard about this place on Mugglenet?"

The girl smiled and put down the glass she was cleaning.

"Every muggleborn eventually wings their way here. I'm Jenny, pleased to meet you." She extended her hand across the counter and shook each of theirs warmly. "Right, house rules, no magic, we're completely off the Ministry grid here and I don't want them knocking on my door. And there's nothing stopping muggles wandering in either so, you know, keep it discreet. We've got a few bunk beds upstairs if you're looking for somewhere to stay, or you can just chill down here and use the internet."

"That all we need for today, thanks," said Alaw, glancing up at the menu above the counter. "Can we just have some smoothies?"

"Of course, you won't find a Pumpkin anywhere in the building. Oh, the Wi-Fi password's here."

Jenny tapped a small board propped up against a tray of cakes before turning to attend to their drinks. Whilst Hermione fished out some money to pay her, Alaw went to sit down at a table by the window. Each chair had a charging port beneath it and Alaw leant down to plug in her phone and her laptop. Once it had powered up she typed in the password – _Alohomora_ – she was able to get online. But after about a minute she realised she'd been staring blankly at the search bar without typing a single word. Hermione came over with the drinks and sat down opposite her.

"Al, what's wrong?" she asked in concern.

"What'll I do if I actually do get expelled?" Alaw asked quietly. It was a thought she'd been trying to repress for the past few days but it seemed to have hit her in that moment out of the blue. "If they snap my wand and send me home, what'll I do? How do I explain it to mum and dad? I can't go back to Beddgelert, not after Hogwarts! I can't go back to just being a muggle when I know there's magic out there!"

Hermione reached across the table and squeezed Alaw's hand tightly.

"It won't come to that," she said firmly. "Dumbledore will never let you be expelled, and he'll never let them take your wand. And even if you do get expelled, the Order will protect you, they won't let Voldemort near you."

Alaw suddenly got a mental image of herself cooped up in Grimmauld Place forever with Sirius, never allowed to leave the house, but never allowed to join the Order either. It was a miserable thought. She shook herself before taking a fortifying gulp of her smoothie and concentrating once again on her computer screen.

"Ok, let's get started."

O

Alaw checked her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes and sighed irritably. She was sitting halfway up the stairs in Grimmauld Place, facing the front door and its many locks and bolts. She'd been positioned here for a good three hours because she had a good view of the kitchen door, and there were a series of objects on the step next to her. A book, Mr Weasley's Rubik's Cube and her phone. She'd tried to distract herself with each in turn but none of them had worked. Surely the meeting would be over soon. Dumbledore had waited until the night before the hearing to make an appearance and Alaw was determined to catch him before he left and get some last minute tips.

Even as she thought this, Alaw heard the faint scraping of chairs in the kitchen and she sat up a straight, her eyes fixed on the door. After a few moments the door opened and Professor Dumbledore came out. He didn't seem to see Alaw because he swept towards the front door, murmuring a spell under his breath to undo the chains.

"Professor!" Alaw said in a low voice, so as not to disturb the portrait of Sirius' mother. "Professor, can I speak to you?"

But Dumbledore did not turn towards her, he acted as if he hadn't heard her at all. Astonished and alarmed, Alaw hurried down the steps and tried to waylay the headmaster before he reached the front door.

"Professor please! Just five minutes, I really need some advice for tomorrow! Sir!" Alaw tried desperately but Dumbledore had already opened the door and vanished into the night.

She heard him disapparate with a faint pop and Alaw stood on the front step, her mouth slightly open and dread flooding through her. That was it then, Dumbledore had washed his hands of her. Sirius came out of the kitchen behind her.

"Alaw, don't stand with the door open like that!" he whispered, moving over to close it. "Where's Dumbledore?"

"He's gone," Alaw said blankly and Sirius frowned.

"But I thought he was going to stay a while and speak to you about the trial."

"He didn't even look at me."

Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it again and looked worriedly at the front door. Alaw walked towards the stairs and mounted them.

"I'm going to bed," she said tonelessly.

"But you haven't had any dinner yet," Sirius chided but Alaw ignored him and kept climbing. It seemed she had disappointed the headmaster too deeply for him to help her this time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **The Ministry of Magic**

Alaw stared into her bowl of porridge, feeling as if she'd throw up if she dared take another bite. Instead she took a gulp of tea, her hand shaking slightly as she reached for the mug. Hermione was going through the documents they'd compiled over the past few days, placing them carefully into a folder in the order they would be needed and naming each aloud as she did so. Her mantra helped sooth Alaw's nerves a little.

"Are you sure you won't eat anything else dear?" Mrs Weasley asked as Alaw finally pushed the porridge away from herself.

Alaw shook her head, not trusting herself to open her mouth. Sirius wasn't eating much either, but glowering into his coffee. He was clearly very angry with Dumbledore for leaving so suddenly the night before, without so much as a word to Alaw about the hearing. Mr Weasley came into the kitchen at that moment wearing a bomber jacket and a pair of ripped jeans. Despite her feeling of numbness, Alaw couldn't help but share a bemused glance with Hermione. Mrs Weasley took in her husband's appearance with a long suffering sigh.

"You aren't planning to go to work like that are you, Arthur?" she asked.

"I'll have to take the girls on the underground, Molly, so I need to blend in. Don't worry I have my normal work clothes to change into once we get there," Mr Weasley reassured her.

Choosing what to wear for the hearing had been tricky for Alaw. She didn't really want to remind everyone of her background by wearing something overtly muggle, she'd gotten in trouble in the past for 'indecent' attire. But on the other hand, since she was being accused of under-age magic, perhaps to was best to be as unmagical as possible. In the end she'd opted for a smart shirt a knee length skirt and sensible flat shoes. It wasn't really her style but it was at least tidy and presentable. Hermione, who was coming with her to act as a witness, was similarly dressed.

"Well, I suppose it's time we were off," said Mr Weasley, checking his watch. "I know the hearing isn't until nine but it gives us plenty of time to get to the Ministry."

Alaw stood up on weak legs and accepted a firm hug from Sirius.

"It'll be alright," he said quietly. "You've done nothing wrong and Amelia Bones is fair, through and through."

"If – if something does go wrong, can I stay here with you?" Alaw mumbled. She hadn't wanted to ask but she couldn't stop the fear slipping out. Sirius just gave her one last squeeze before letting go.

"It won't come to that," he said firmly.

Ron and Neville waved them off in the hall, whispering words of encouragement that Alaw didn't know how to respond to. She followed Mr Weasley and Hermione out onto the street in a kind of daze, not really watching where her feet were taking her. Alaw sat on the tube in silence. Mr Weasley was trying to look as muggle as possible by reading the paper like all the other passengers. Only he wasn't following tube etiquette and kept asking Hermione to explain the articles to him. Alaw tried to distract herself by scrolling through her phone but there was obviously no signal underground so eventually there was nothing to do but stare off into space.

At long last they pulled into Westminster station and they joined the throng heading for the escalators. Once again Mr Weasley broke social protocol by gripping both banisters tightly and blocking the way for people who were trying to walk up the left hand side.

"What's their hurry?" he asked in surprise as a besuited man huffed his way past.

"It's London, everyone's in a hurry," Alaw explained tonelessly.

When they emerged from the station they rounded the statue of Boudicca and left the houses of parliament and much of the crowd behind them. Mr Weasley took them down a few side streets towards Whitehall until they finally came to halt in a dirty alley which had nothing in it except a skip and an old telephone box with smashed windows. Glass crunched underfoot as he crossed towards the telephone box and opened the door.

"Um, this is the entrance to the Ministry?" Hermione asked uncertainly.

"It's the visitor's entrance, the main gate is a few streets away. But most people just apparate to work, or take the Floo. I know some of the high ups have their home fireplaces connected directly to their offices. Now come on, you both need to be in here with me."

Still wearing sceptical looks, Hermione and Alaw squeezed into the telephone box whilst Mr Weasley picked up the receiver and dialled a number. Then, a disembodied voice echoed around the box.

" _Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Visitors must please state their names and business_."

"Alaw Jones, I'm here for a disciplinary hearing with Amelia Bones."

"Hermione Granger, um, here to support her."

They heard a whirring noise, and then something small and silver clattered into the tray where returned coins would normally appear.

" _Visitors must pin the badge provided to the front of their robes. Thank you!"_

Alaw picked up the badges and looked at them. Hers read, _Alaw Jones, Disciplinary Hearing_. The other said, _Hermione Granger, Moral Support_.

" _Visitors must report to the Security Desk located at the far side of the Atrium. We hope you enjoy your visit to the Ministry!_ "

The floor beneath their feet suddenly jerked and the box began to sink into the ground. The dirty street disappeared above their heads and a light bulb flickered on to illuminate the small space. Their journey was shuddering but thankfully short and soon the box jolted to a halt. Mr Weasley opened the door and Alaw caught her first glimpse of the Ministry of Magic. The Atrium was a long room with a high ceiling and it was brimming with witches and wizards in smart work robes carrying briefcases. Alaw picked nervously at the hem of her shirt as they walked among them towards the other end of the hall. The walls, which were tiled in emerald green, had floo stations along each side. Every few seconds there was a whooshing sound as someone emerged from one of the left-hand fireplaces, and short queues were forming in front of the right-hand ones.

When they managed to push their way through the crowd, the girls found themselves in front of a huge golden fountain which held several larger-than-life statues at its centre. There was a witch and a wizard, standing proudly with their wands in the air, and around them were grouped several magical creatures. There was a centaur, a goblin, and a smaller being Alaw couldn't place, but assumed must have been some kind of leprechaun. These last three were gazing up at the humans in soppy adoration and Alaw pulled a face.

"Well, that's not patronising at all," she said scathingly and Hermione nodded in agreement.

A goblin who carrying several rolls of parchment under his arm gave the fountain a disgusted look on his way past and tisked loudly.

"Girls!" Mr Weasley called. "Come on, over here."

He beckoned them over to a booth to the left of the fountain were a bored looking watch wizard was reading the Daily Prophet. Mr Weasley coughed pointedly and the wizard looked up.

"What?" he asked grumpily.

"I'm escorting these young ladies to a hearing. I believe they need their visit registered?"

The wizard climbed out of his chair with a sigh, lifted the barrier next to his desk and came out, holding a long, golden rod.

"Arms up," he commanded and the girls' complied. The wizard passed the Secrecy Sensor up and down their bodies. When it didn't tremble, he returned to his desk and held out his hand.

"Wands."

Alaw and Hermione handed them over and the wizard dropped each in turn on a set of scales. After a few moments two slips of paper shot out of slot at the base and he squinted at them.

"10 and a three-quarter inches, vine wood, dragon heart-string core, been in use two years, right?"

"Yes," said Hermione and her wand was handed back to her. The wizard turned to the second piece of paper.

"Ten and a half inches, Hornbeam, unicorn hair, also been in use two years."

"That's right," Alaw confirmed, and she accepted her wand and returned it to the little purse she was wearing over her shoulder. No need to display the thing at a time like this.

The watch wizard was giving her a hard look, particularly gazing at her name badge.

"Oooh, I heard about you, you're that muggle-born that was in the papers a couple of years ago. The one who was put in Slytherin by mistake?"

"It wasn't a mistake," Alaw said coldly before turning her back on the wizard and following Mr Weasley towards a smaller hall behind the fountain. This had lift banks all along the walls and they joined the queue to use one which had just rattled into its cage.

"Why does everyone think it's an accident that I ended up in Slytherin? I wanted to be there! The Hat doesn't make mistakes," Alaw grumbled as the gates rolled closer and they began to ascend.

They stopped at several floors on their journey and the other occupants of the lift slowly trickled out. Some said hello to Mr Weasley, or looked curiously at the girls in their muggle clothes. Their stares made Alaw uncomfortable so she watched a bunch of paper aeroplanes fly around the swinging lamp. Professor Flitwick had taught them to make a magical memo at the end of first year, in case any of them ever went on the work for the Ministry and they were quite handy for sending messages around Hogwarts without having to track down whoever you needed to talk to.

Finally the voice over in the lift chimed,

" _Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services._ "

Mr Weasley gave the girls each a small push in the back and they left the lift. They found themselves in a wide corridor with dark wood panelled walls and doors at regular intervals. When they reached the end Alaw looked to her left and caught a glimpse of an open area filled with cubicles. It was full of activity and the brass plate on the half open door read 'Auror Headquarters'. But Mr Weasley gestured down a much shorter corridor on the right, this time lined with portraits, and with a single door at the end.

"This is Amelia Bones' office," he said whilst checking his watch. "You still have about forty minutes so why don't I show you where my office is and then you can wait –"

But the door of the office had opened and a witch came out holding a file, much like the one Hermione was carrying, under her arm. She had a stern, no-nonsense face, close clopped grey hair and a monocle. Her robes were plum coloured and had a stylised W sewn over the left hand side of the chest.

"Morning Arthur," she said, striding towards them. She looked down at Alaw and nodded to herself. "You must be Miss Jones, Amelia Bones."

She held out her hand which Alaw shook.

"You're cutting it a little fine you know," Madam Bones said sternly. "The hearing starts in ten minutes."

Alaw's eyes widened in alarm and she checked her watch.

"But, it's only twenty past eight! The hearing isn't until nine."

Madam Bones frowned and shook her head.

"No no, the hearing has been moved to half past eight. Didn't you get the owl telling you about the change? And it isn't in my office any more, for some reason Cornelius wanted to hold it downstairs in Courtroom Ten."

Alaw's heart dropped to the region of her stomach and she thanked God that they'd decided to come to the Ministry so early. Mr Weasley was looking at Madam Bones in shock.

"Courtroom Ten, down on level nine? But they haven't used those old rooms in years! Not since, well, not since the clean up after the war."

Madam Bones shrugged.

"I don't know what Cornelius is thinking these days. He said something about it being a waste not to use them. Maybe he's right, but this is just a simple case of underage magic for goodness sake. It can be handled in fifteen minutes. Anyway, I'll walk you down Miss Jones. And who is this you have with you?"

Hermione stuck out her own hand.

"Hermione Granger, ma'am. I'm going to be a witness for the case."

Madam Bones shook her hand and raised an eyebrow, but didn't make any further comment. She escorted the girls back towards the lifts and Mr Weasley followed. They didn't make any small talk on the way down to level nine. Alaw tried to gage Madam Bones' mood but it was impossible as she was reading through her file with a passive expression on her face. Fifteen minutes she'd said, was that good or bad? It was hard to tell. There wasn't a single person besides themselves left in the lift by the time it rattled to a halt and the voice said,

" _Department of Mysteries_."

The grate slid open and yet another corridor lay before them, only this one was dark and somewhat forbidding. The walls were covered in black, glassy tiles, as was the floor and there was not a single door accept for the one at the far end. It was even darker than the tiles and didn't have a handle. Alaw assumed that this would be their final destination but Madam Bones turned immediately left down a short set of stairs and they left the marbled corridor behind. The stretch they were now it was much more like the dungeon passages at Hogwarts, with stone walls and torches.

"Here we are, Arthur, I'm afraid the public gallery is closed today," Madam Bones explained and Mr Weasley's shoulders slumped. He sighed and then sat down on a stone bench opposite the door to courtroom ten.

"I'll just wait here then," he said. Madam Bones turned to Hermione.

"When the time comes for witnesses, Miss Granger, we will call you in. Until then, you can also wait here."

Hermione didn't look too pleased about this but she didn't complain. Instead, she hugged Alaw tightly and handed the file to her.

"Just explain it all clearly and stick to what's in here. You'll be ok, you've done nothing wrong," she said encouragingly.

Alaw couldn't reply. There was nothing to say. Madam Bones opened the door for her and she went inside, trying not to let her terror show on her face. She found herself in a circular room, surrounded on all sides by high benches rising towards the ceiling. The seats were filled with witches and wizards dressed just like Madam Bones who had been talking quietly amongst themselves until the door opened. Now they looked over, and a few muttered to their neighbours at the sight of Alaw. She saw many sneers of contempt.

"Ah, Amelia, we were worried you would be late," said Cornelius Fudge.

He was sitting in one of the front benches next to a squat little witch Alaw didn't recognise. Her eyes quickly swept the crowd, estimating there to be about fifty of them, and tried to see if she recognised anyone. Barty Crouch was unmistakable, she picked out his toothbrush moustache in moments among the front benchers, and there were a few familiar faces further up the tiers, people who had attended some of the Quidditch games at Hogwarts the previous year.

"There's still three minutes to go, Cornelius," said Madam Bones and there was a definite bite to her voice. "I came across Miss Jones waiting outside my office. Apparently she did not receive the letter informing her of the changed time and place."

"That is not the Wizengamot's fault," said Fudge haughtily. "An owl was sent to her home address this morning."

Given that her home address was all the way in Wales, and the letter had only been sent that very morning, Alaw could see no way for her to have made it to London on time. She shuddered, and once again thanked her lucky stars for Mr Weasley's foresight.

"I've been staying in London for a few days," she explained and all eyes fixed on her. "I'm sorry, I should have sent the Ministry the address of my hotel."

Madam Bones climbed up a set of stairs and made her over the front bench before sitting down beside Fudge. He shuffled some papers in front of him and glanced up at Alaw over the top of his specs.

"Take a seat, Miss Jones."

Alaw looked at the centre of the room where there was a single chair, whose arms and back was decorated with chains. She stared at this for a moment, her heart thumping hard, and wondered if it was possible to refuse. But she didn't want to start the hearing on hostile terms so she sank gingerly onto the very edge of the chair. The chains clinked, but didn't bind her.

"Very well, let us begin. Weasley, are you ready?"

"Yes sir!" said a voice Alaw recognised and she looked to her right in astonishment.

There, sitting at a desk lower than all the benches, was Percy. He had a typewriter in front of him and he appeared to be poised to take notes. Alaw couldn't understand it, the last she'd heard, Percy had been working as Crouch's assistant in the Department of Magical Cooperation. So what was he doing scribe work at the Wizengamot for? He hadn't been to any Order meetings that she knew of, but she'd assumed he'd been busy at work. He didn't look at Alaw when she tried to catch his eye, but kept his gaze on the parchment before him.

"Disciplinary Hearing on the 20th of July, into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Alaw Awen Jones, resident at Cefn-Y-Bedd, Beddgelert, Snowdonia. Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley."

Fudge looked down at Alaw who had never felt so small in her life. The Minister extricated a piece of paper from the file in front of him and read it out for the court to hear.

"The charges against the accused are as follows: 'That she did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of her actions, having been informed of our laws upon entering the Wizarding World two years ago, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, not far from Monpazier wizarding village in the Dordogne, in the early hours of the morning of the 13th of July, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy. Do you deny the charges, Miss Jones?"

"Yes," said Alaw, firmly, and clearly. There was a great deal of muttering at this and a few people shook their heads scornfully. Fudge's expression was grim.

"You deny that you preformed the Patronus Charm on the morning in question?"

"I performed the Charm, but it was in self-defence." More muttering, some scoffs and jeers, and Alaw opened her file to the first page. "With the court's permission, I have prepared a short statement that I would like to read for you now?"

"Very well, let us hear what you have to say for yourself," Fudge sneered.

Alaw took a deep breath and dropped her eyes to the file.

"I was holidaying in France with my friends, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom, camped beside a lake not far from Monpazier Wizarding village, a few weeks ago. We took our wands with us only as a precaution. At about four o clock in the morning on the 13th I went to the toilet, and on the way back to my tent I saw a Dementor coming towards me."

There was a torrent of whispers at this and Fudge gave a bark of laughter.

"You expect us to believe that a Dementor simply wondered into a random French campsite, and just happened to come across you?" he demanded. Alaw kept her cool and looked up at the Minister.

"May I finish my statement?" she asked calmly. Madam Bones glanced at Fudge and then waved a hand.

"Please continue, Miss Jones."

Alaw carried on.

"I ran to wake up my friends and the four of us got into our car and drove away, hoping to draw the Dementor away from the muggles and to escape. The car broke down after about ten minutes and the Dementor caught up to us. We decided to stay in the car and lock the doors, but a second Dementor appeared and smashed one of the back windows. The first Dementor smashed the windscreen and grabbed me, pulling me out of the car. I tried several times to produce a Patronus, and eventually I managed it. My Patronus destroyed the Dementor holding me and then chased off the second Dementor. We then got the car running again and drove back to the campsite where we were taken in custody by Captain Chevalier of the Monpazier Auror Department."

When Alaw finished her statement she slid the duplicate copy she had printed out of its plastic sleeve and stood up to approach the bench.

"This is a copy of my statement, uh, shall I, um," She looked up at the three judges and faltered. It was far too high for her to pass up to them, even on tip toes. "I'm sorry, I really prepared my case envisioning a desk between us."

There were a few titters from the Wizengamot and Fudge's mouth twisted sourly.

"Give it to Weasley," he snapped and Alaw turned to place the statement on Percy's desk. Percy promptly made his way up the stairs behind him to hand the document to Fudge.

"Alright then, so this is your story is it?" he asked contemptuously. "And I don't suppose you have a shred of proof?"

Alaw remained on her feet and pulled a second piece of paper from her file.

"This," she said, holding it up. "Is a statement from Captain Chevalier. I wrote to him when I got back to the UK, asking him to provide one for my defence. I have the original letter here in French, and also an English translation. The Captain also said he would write directly to the Ministry?"

She looked anxiously as Madam Bones who frowned.

"I have received no such letter, Miss Jones," she said and Alaw felt her heart jolt horribly. She swallowed.

"Well, I've included the address of his Auror Station on here in case the court would like to verify his statement."

She handed the letters to Percy who again took them up to the front bench. As Fudge glanced over it Alaw summarised for the rest of the court.

"Captain Chevalier confirms in his letter that the last spell my wand performed was the Patronus Charm, and that the damage to our car matched my version of events, and that the remains of a Dementor were discovered on the road where the incident took place."

"The remains of a Dementor could be little more than a few scraps of cloth," Fudge objected, as he handed the letter to Amelia Bones for her to read over. "That is hardly sufficient evidence."

Alaw ignored this and opened the clasp of her purse.

"I've brought my wand with me today for the court to perform their own Reverse Spell, if that is required?"

She looked questioningly up at Madam Bones who nodded curtly. Alaw duly handed over her wand to Percy who took it up to the judges. Madam Bones performed the spell, putting her wand and Alaw's tip to tip.

" _Prior Incantato_ ," she said clearly.

As before, a small push of silvery smoke rose from the point where the two wands met and twisted into the form of a dragon. There were murmurs from the Wizengamot, but this time they sounded impressed.

"You can perform a fully-fledged Patronus? And such an unusual form," said Madam Bones, looking animated for the first time. "When did you learn to do this?"

"In my first year at Hogwarts. Professor Lupin taught me privately."

"But why?"

"Because –" But Alaw had to catch herself and she glanced slyly at Fudge. "I'm sorry," she said mildly. "But I'm not able to tell you why. I'm bound by magical contract to secrecy. If you'd like the details you'll need to speak to Rufus Scrimgeour."

That would tell the Wizengamot all they needed to know. When a Dementor had been set loose at Hogwarts during Alaw's first year, the Ministry had done its best to hush it all up. None of the students had known what exactly was haunting the corridors at night, except from the victims, and Alaw, who had killed the creature. All of them had been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements by Scrimgeour but Alaw had got around the jinx by signing with her right hand. She had then sent an anonymous tip off to the Daily Prophet and the whole Wizarding community had been in uproar about it for months afterwards.

The look Fudge was giving her now was poisonous. He had always suspected Alaw to be behind the leak but had never been able to prove it. Feeling that this was dangerous ground, Alaw tried to move on.

"I have one other piece of evidence to present," she said. "A witness. Hermione Granger is waiting just outside."

"We don't have time to listen to more of your nonsense," Fudge snapped. "Just take your seat so we can get on with the vote!"

"But," Alaw flipped through her notes urgently. "Under the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, I'm allowed to present witnesses, aren't I?"

"Quite right, that has been Wizengamot policy for decades. Or has the law changed so drastically since I left?"

Alaw whirled around and gaped as Professor Dumbledore swept into the courtroom, his robes swishing about him and a serene expression on his face, as if he was expected. Alaw wasn't the only one flustered by his sudden appearance, Fudge too was looking ruffled.

"Ah, Dumbledore, you received our letter then?"

"Actually I must have missed it. But luckily I arrived in the Ministry three hours early, and heard about the change from one of your charming secretaries Cornelius. I hope I'm not too late?"

"Miss Jones has already given us her statement, and was just about to present a witness," said Madam Bones when Fudge appeared unable to speak. She turned to look down at Percy. "Mr Weasley, if you'd be so kind as to fetch the witness. She's waiting just outside the door."

Percy leapt up to obey and swept past Alaw and Dumbledore without glancing at them. Alaw tried to catch Dumbledore's eye, seeking some kind of reassurance, but he was gazing resolutely up at Fudge. Alaw resumed her seat as Percy led Hermione inside. Dumbledore conjured two extra chairs for himself and Hermione and they both sat.

"And your name is?" Fudge asked curtly.

"Hermione Jean Granger," Hermione replied in a clear voice, not flinching under his glare. "I'm a student in Alaw's year at Hogwarts and her friend. I was with her in France when the Dementors attacked."

"Alright, tell us your story," Fudge said boredly. Hermione recited her statement which was pretty much exactly the same as Alaw's and ended it by handing it over to Percy. Madam Bones was watching Hermione closely.

"Miss Granger, please describe the Dementors, their appearance, their behaviour."

"They were big, cloaked, and they floated along the ground towards us. The air went cold when they got close, terribly cold, and I felt drained and weak. Like all the happiness was gone from me. And their hands were dead and rotten."

Hermione gave an involuntary shudder as did many of the Wizengamot.

"You sound as if you've had dealings with Dementors in the past," said Madam Bones shrewdly and Hermione nodded.

"I have, ma'am."

When she didn't elaborate, Madam Bones raised her eyebrows.

"Can I ask when?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm not able to say. I'm bound by magical contract."

Alaw did her best not to smile. She had to look as neutral as possible. Fudge, obviously, was not pleased with how this trial was going so far. He'd obviously hoped to have her kicked out of Hogwarts within the first five minutes.

"Very well, that will be all. Go and wait outside," Fudge told Hermione coldly. Hermione stood, nodded to Alaw, and left the dungeons.

"Well, her statement was hardly more credible that Miss Jones'," Fudge sneered. "I mean for goodness sake, why would a couple of Dementors be wondering around the French countryside? They are all confined in Azkaban prison. The odds of two wild Dementors just stumbling on four witches and wizards are astronomical!"

"Oh I don't think the Dementors were there by accident Cornelius," said Dumbledore mildly. "I think the only sensible explanation is that they were sent by someone."

Alaw turned her head to give Dumbledore a disbelieving look. So this was the reason he had come, not to help her, but to convince the Ministry once again that Voldemort had returned. He was going to hijack her perfectly straightforward case, turning it into a political stunt! And seriously jeopardising her future. Madam Bones was frowning at the headmaster, Fudge rolled his eyes, but the witch sitting on his other side leant forward for the first time.

"The Chair recognises Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister."

"Thank you Minister," said the witch in a high, girly voice that made Alaw cringe. "And I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore, so silly of me, but it sounded for a tiny moment like you were accusing the Ministry of ordering an attack on this girl! Which of course is ridiculous."

Alaw frowned up at the woman, her words beginning to turn the cogs in her mind. She had thought Voldemort was the prime suspect for the attack, but it wasn't impossible that the Ministry had ordered it. They wanted her out of the way, and what better way to ensure her silence than a couple of Dementors. Either she would be Kissed, or expelled.

"That would be a ridiculous accusation indeed, madam undersecretary," said Dumbledore gravely. "Of course, it is entirely possible that the Dementors might be taking their orders from someone other than the Ministry these days. You will all remember how willing they were to do Voldemort's bidding last time he rose to power."

There was the usual shudder at the mention of Voldemort's name and Fudge's face was white with anger.

"Dumbledore, your wild, unfounded theories were what had you ousted from this court in the first place. And they have no relevance here!"

"On the contrary, they are highly relevant," Dumbledore countered. "If you accept that the Dark Lord has returned to full strength, then that would neatly explain why the Dementors were there."

Alaw couldn't stop herself from sighing and giving Amelia Bones a desperate look. This was all going wrong, she'd been doing fine before Dumbledore turned up. Madam Bones seemed to understand her pleading expression and cut across the two men.

"Miss Jones, you wish to say something?"

"Yes!" Alaw said gratefully, getting quickly to her feet and walking to the centre of the room. "Yes, I do. We aren't here to discuss whether or not the Dark Lord has returned. I only want to clear my name. I think I have presented sufficient evidence to support my case. The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery clearly states that I may use magic in defence of my own, or others', lives. And I ask you, why would I, a muggle-born, perform such a spell just for fun? Knowing that convictions for muggle-borns who break the decree are much harsher than they are for purebloods? Why would I risk everything?"

These words obviously made many in the room uncomfortable and there was a lot of shifting and muttering. Madam Bones gave Alaw an appraising look.

"Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges," she said suddenly and Alaw's eyes widened. She hadn't expected them to call a vote so quickly. She looked around the room and people slowly began to put their hands up, including Madam Bones herself. She tried to count them, it looked like more than half, but she couldn't be sure before Madam Bones called,

"And those in favour of conviction?"

Fudge put his hand up, and so did Umbridge and many others. But now it was clear that Fudge didn't have a majority. He looked disgusted and he banged his gavel furiously.

"Cleared of all charges," he snarled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **The First Spark**

Alaw closed her eyes and let out a gasp of relief. She then looked down at her hands and realised she'd been clutching her file so tightly, her knuckles had turned white. In an effort to calm down she shook one of her hands and looked up at the benches. The Wizengamot was already getting its feet, the members putting away their papers and shuffling towards the stairs. Dumbledore had already swept from the room and Alaw hurried after him, hoping to catch up and talk to him. Outside in the corridor however, the only people to greet her were Mr Weasley and Hermione. They looked at her anxiously.

"Well?!" Hermione asked. "Dumbledore didn't say anything!"

"Cleared of all charges," Alaw said, looking over their shoulders towards the stairs. But there was no sign of Dumbledore. Hermione squealed and threw her arms around Alaw.

"Al! That's wonderful! Well of course they couldn't get away with expelling you, Amelia Bones wouldn't stand for it! Wait until we get back to the house, Ron snuck out yesterday and bought you a bottle of that gin you like just to celebrate."

Mr Weasley clapped Alaw on the shoulder, beaming, but the smile slid from his face as the door behind them opened. The three of them had to step smartly out of the way to avoid the members of the Wizengamot as they filed out with their briefcases. Most of them were muttering amongst themselves, a few glanced at the girls as they passed and a couple said good morning to Mr Weasley. Madam Bones nodded politely to them as she went by but Fudge completely ignored all three of them. He was deep in discussion with the toad-like woman called Umbridge. She gave Alaw a searching look as she passed and Alaw frowned back at her. Last to leave was Percy, and then something rather strange happened. Percy looked up from his notes and saw his father standing there. A strange expression crossed his face, his jaw tightened and his cheeks lost some of their colour. He looked angry for some reason.

Alaw's frown deepened and she looked over her shoulder at Mr Weasley, and she was shocked to see the same expression etched on his face. Percy swept away without saying a word, leaving Alaw and Hermione exchanging confused glances.

"Well, I better get you girls home," said Mr Weasley briskly once Percy had had time to disappear at the end of the corridor. "I'll just drop you off and then come straight back, I've got a lot of work to do."

"We can find our way back ourselves, we don't want to be a pain," Hermione offered as Mr Weasley ushered them towards the lifts.

"Nonsense. Dumbledore would have my head if he heard I'd let you wander around London by yourselves."

Alaw was feeling rather unsettled by the Headmaster's strange behaviour. Last night, he had swept from her presence without as much as a backwards glance. She'd been convinced he'd washed his hands of her. But he had shown up at the trial to defend her! Sure, he'd used it as an excuse to have a go at Fudge, but he'd still shown up. And now he had disappeared again without speaking to her. It was as if he was trying to confuse her. Alaw was shaking her head in irritation when she came up the stairs and came face to face with the second to last person she had expected – or wanted – to see.

Lucius Malfoy looked just as he always did. Impeccably dressed in dark purple today, his white-blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and his piercing grey eyes latched on to Alaw's the moment she appeared. He cocked his head a little, his lip raised in the mere suggestion of a sneer.

"Well, here she is, then. The Minister was just telling me all about your trial, Miss Jones."

Alaw's mouth parted slightly in surprise and she spared Fudge a single, quick glance before focusing of Malfoy again. It was just the two of them waiting for the lift, there were no guards or other personnel. The last time Alaw had seen Malfoy senior, he had been wearing a black cloak and a Death Eater's mask. He had been begging Lord Voldemort to forgive him, and jeering as Voldemort turned his wand on Alaw. Alaw thought she detected the merest hint of a scar, hidden, almost out of sight, just below his jaw line. Perhaps a relic of Emrys' dragon fire.

"You don't work here," she said, unable to stop herself. "I thought Malfoys were all unemployed. What business do you have in the Ministry?"

Malfoy exhaled a small puff of air through his nose, which may have been a delicate snort.

"Just as uncouth as ever, Miss Jones. Really, you've had over two years in the wizarding world, surely it's time you learnt a witch's respect."

Alaw raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Fudge again to see how he would react to this obvious racism. By the look on his face, Fudge entirely agreed with Malfoy.

"I only respect people who are respectable," Alaw replied smoothly.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hermione purse her lips to stifle a smile. Malfoy's gaze became even chillier and it suddenly stuck Alaw how strange it was that Draco's eyes could be the exact same shade as his fathers, and yet hold none of their ice. Alaw had thought Draco attractive for some time now, but though he was the spit of his father, Malfoy senior was in no way handsome. His manner erased all good features. Fudge gave a great tisk and motioned Malfoy towards the lift.

"Come, Lucius. We can continue this discussion in my office."

Malfoy nodded and gave Alaw, Hermione and Mr Weasley one last look of contempt before walking into the lift with the Minister. Alaw just couldn't help herself. As the grate rattled shut she called,

"Oh, please tell your boss that it was a nice try. Very clever."

If Malfoy reacted, Alaw didn't see before the lift rose out of sight.

"You shouldn't antagonise him," said Hermione quietly but Alaw shrugged.

"He'll try and kill me either way. Might as well have some fun whilst I'm at it."

Mr Weasley took the girls up the stairs instead of hanging around for another lift to come. He seemed unsettled by the encounter with Malfoy.

"What was he doing here?" Hermione asked. "Do you think he was trying to sneak into the trial?"

"Probably," said Mr Weasley bitterly. "He's very well connected, spends a lot of his time lobbying quietly in the background to stop laws he doesn't like from being passed."

"Is lobbying legal in the wizarding world?" Alaw asked as they left the stairwell and emerged into the Atrium. It wasn't as crowed as it had been earlier, the people having dispersed once rush hour was over. Mr Weasley grimaced.

"Technically no, it isn't. But who's to stop a rich patron from donating funds to a politician's election campaign, and then asking for a quiet favour later on?"

Alaw and Hermione nodded.

"It's like that in the muggle world too; companies have more power than elected officials a lot of the time," Alaw sighed.

They were passing the Fountain of Magical Brethren again and she glanced up at the statues. It really was gaudy, and in very poor taste. She wondered that the Goblins hadn't kicked up a fuss about it. After a pause, Hermione voiced the concern which had blossomed in Alaw's mind.

"Mr Weasley, if Fudge is talking to Malfoy privately, how do we know he hasn't been Imperiused? Or any of the other heads of department for that matter. I mean, there are a lot of Death Eaters who work here at the Ministry. Any one of them could curse one of the officials."

Mr Weasley took the time to check that no one was close enough to overhear them before responding.

"We have considered that, but Dumbledore knows Fudge, and he thinks he's acting of his own free will at the moment. As for the other heads of department, well, you're right, it is a disturbing possibility. But they've all been acting normally as far as we can tell. We have our eyes and ears peeled for any strange behaviour. And most of them are accomplished witches and wizards in their own right. Strong willed people can fight off the Imperius Curse and You-Know-Who wouldn't want to risk exposing himself so soon."

This was a little comforting and at the very least it reminded Alaw that she needed to fill in the gaps in her Defence Against the Dark Arts training. She only know the basics at the moment, it wouldn't hurt to research the types of spells Voldemort and his followers used to use. It wasn't until they'd made it to the visitor's entrance that it finally began to dawn on Alaw that she had in fact been cleared. A smile crept onto her face and she glanced at Hermione.

"So, what's this gin Ron bought?"

* * *

"Yes! I knew it!" Ron whooped when Alaw told him the news.

All the residents of Grimmauld Place had been gathered in the kitchen when Alaw and Hermione returned and they'd all jumped up from their seats when the girls entered the room. As Fred and George cheered and lifted Alaw onto their shoulders to do a lap of honour around the kitchen table, Mrs Weasley put a hand to her breast and sighed in relief.

"We told you, didn't we, Al?" Ginny called gleefully. "We told you you'd get off! Slytherins always wriggle out of things!"

When the twins put Alaw down, she was drawn into a tight hug by Sirius.

"Well done," he said feelingly, patting her on the back. Alaw grinned up at him.

"You should come out with us tonight, to celebrate!" she said excitedly. "I've never been out in London. Come on, what do you say?"

For a moment Sirius looked tempted, but he glanced at Mrs Weasley and shook his head.

"I'd love to, Al, I really would, but you know I can't leave the house. And you shouldn't either! I'll bet Voldemort is just dying to have another crack at you now that you're off the hook. We can celebrate here, some of the other Order members are coming round. Tonks, and Remus and I think Mundungus said he'd drop by. We'll make a good night off it."

Alaw would have honestly preferred going out on the town, but the Weasley parents were watching them like hawks so there would be no sneaking off that night. So, grudgingly, Alaw settled herself at the kitchen table and tucked into the lunch Mrs Weasley had prepared. Ron and Neville sat down opposite her and immediately demanded to hear a blow-by-blow account of the trial. Alaw filled them in between bites of chicken pie.

"… And the stupid bench was too high for me to reach so they made Percy carry all my evidence up to them. It was like bloody musical chairs."

"Wait, _Percy_ was there?" Ron asked sharply, his fork stopping halfway to his mouth.

"Yeah, he was the clerk. But what's the deal with that? I thought he was working for Crouch."

Ron glanced quickly up the table towards his mother but she was talking to Ginny about her school robes needing alterations.

"Okay, I should've probably warned you about this before, but whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of mum and dad," Ron muttered in a low voice that wouldn't carry. Alaw and Hermione looked at each other in surprise.

"Why?" Hermione asked in a whisper.

"Because there's been a massive bust up, that's why," said Ron grimly. "It's been terrible. So a few days after term ended, Percy came home from work with what he thought was good news. Fudge had promoted him, and moved him to his department. I bet Percy thought dad would be all proud."

"Oh, come on, Percy's not that stupid, he had to see what Fudge was after," Alaw scoffed. Ron laughed bitterly.

"Fat chance. Percy's always been dead ambitious. All he saw were the career prospects. He was too thick to realise Fudge only wanted him in his office so he could spy on dad and Dumbledore. When dad told him this, Percy went absolutely mental. He said – well – he said loads of terrible stuff to mum and dad. I've never seen dad get into a proper argument like that before. It was horrible, mum was crying and dad was screaming, and eventually, Percy just packed his bags and walked out on us. He lives somewhere in Diagon Alley now apparently."

Alaw sat back in shock at this revelation and Hermione put a hand over her mouth. Alaw had always quite liked Percy, always had a decent relationship with him. He may have been full of himself at times and overly bossy, but he had always treated Alaw well, despite her being a Slytherin. She would always be grateful to him for turning a blind eye to her many visits to Gryffindor Tower when she couldn't go back to the Dungeons. She had never expected him to do something like this.

"Why?" she asked hopelessly. "Why is Percy being so stupid?! He must know that Voldemort's back, he must know Dumbledore wouldn't lie about it!"

"That's exactly what he does think," said Neville unexpectedly. He'd remained quiet throughout Ron's explanation, looking sombre. "Percy might have idolised Dumbledore at school, but in the Ministry it's a totally different story. Dumbledore's never been very popular there apparently, he's stepped on a lot of toes over the years. Percy is trying to get ahead."

"Alright, maybe he's buying the whole 'Dumbledore is nuts' spiel, but what about me?! Doesn't he trust me? He's known me for two years, does he think I'm crazy?"

"I think he does," said George sadly as he came to sit with them. Apparently, he had been eavesdropping on their conversation. "A few weeks back, we heard Moody and Dumbledore talking about it on the extendible ears. Apparently, the story Fudge is quietly putting about is that you were captured by Sirius at the end of term and tortured until you went a bit nuts."

Alaw scowled, remembering that Fudge had put forward that very theory to Dumbledore in the Hospital Wing a few weeks ago.

"Bastard!" she spat. "No wonder everyone was looking at me funny at the trial! Well thank God I didn't lose my temper and prove them all right!"

"Yeah," George sighed, reaching over and stealing a couple of Ron's chips. "I'm sorry, Al, but I reckon you're going to have a really hard time convincing people You-Know-Who's back. Fudge's story has probably reached quite a few people by now."

Alaw grumbled incoherently and put her head in one hand, glaring down at her food. Well, if people weren't going to take her word for it, she'd just have to find some proof. The news of Percy's walkout had disturbed her deeply. Voldemort apparently had a great gift for sowing discord among friends and family. Alaw squared her shoulders and decided there and then that she would have to contact Percy right away. She wouldn't be responsible for the Weasleys' unhappiness any more.

* * *

Two days after the trial, the Order of the Phoenix had another full meeting which Dumbledore attended. As before, the young ones were shunted upstairs out of the way with a plate of sandwiches for their dinner. For once, none of them minded, because they had more important things to do than complain.

"Alright," said Alaw, sitting up smartly on the edge of the bed. "Welcome to the very first meeting of the Order of the Flame."

They were all gathered in a spare bedroom they'd been cleaning that day, perched on any available surface. Alaw had meticulously gone around the room before hand to make sure there weren't any magical listening devices. They were holding the meeting in this room rather than their bedroom because Alaw had been unable to prise the one painting in that room away from the wall, and she didn't trust portraits. Its occupant, a finely dressed wizard with a thin face and a black goatee, had eventually emerged from the edge of the frame to shout at her for desecrating the house of Black. But this spare room had no portraits, so they would be safe.

"So we're sticking with that name, are we?" asked Ron sceptically.

"I like it," Ginny declared. "It suits us."

Hermione was sitting on a chair next to Alaw, jotting down the minutes of the meeting on a notepad. She had appointed herself the official secretary of the Flames and no one had felt like challenging her.

"Right, so here's what I reckon we should do to start with," said Alaw. "I think we need to decide what our main goals are, and then how best to achieve them. All the fine details can be sorted out later."

"Well, isn't our goal obvious? We want to stop You-Know-Who," said Fred.

"We want to help the Order bring him down," Ginny agreed.

"Though, that might be a little a bit tricky when they don't want our help," George mused. "And because we're going back to Hogwarts in a month!"

"Voldemort knows about the Order of the Phoenix, he'll be keeping tabs on them for damn sure, but he doesn't know about us. We can tackle him in a different way to the Order," Alaw reminded them all. "And just because we'll be at school, doesn't mean we can't do anything."

Hermione was scribbling something and Alaw glanced at the notebook. At the top, Hermione had written,

 _Primary Goal – Dismantle Voldemort's operation._

She smiled and carried on.

"So, that's our main goal, now we can talk about how to do all this. Obviously, the most important thing is to get other people to believe us. We need to force Voldemort into the light."

"How do we do that? And please stop saying his name!" Ron winced. Alaw gave him a withering look.

"You're in the Anti-Voldemort League now, you better get used to the name. And I don't know how, yet. We'll need to think about it. So, that's one goal sorted, any other suggestions?"

She had about five more of her own but she thought it best to let the others voice their opinions first before she started sounding too much like a leader. Neville was the first to speak up, raising his hand politely. Out of the corer of her eye, Alaw saw Hermione grin fondly and shake her head a little.

"Um, I think we should try and take down his Death Eaters," said Neville. "I mean, You-Know-Who's dangerous, but he can only do all the things he does because he has support."

"Nice thinking! Very Slytherin of you," Alaw smiled, impressed. "Yeah, we should totally try and cripple his support staff."

"Again, how?" Ron asked. "Are you talking about – about _assassinating_ them?!"

The others looked at him in shock.

"No!" Alaw cried. "No, no, no, nothing like that! No, there are plenty of ways of getting rid of someone without killing them. They're Death Eaters, right? Criminals. If we can expose them for the various crimes they've committed, they'll be banged up in Azkaban. Or - OR! We can turn them on each other!"

The others looked at each other in confusion.

"We're not following you, Al," said Fred and Alaw ploughed on excitedly.

"Just because they're on the same side, doesn't mean they all get along. There's plenty of rivalries among the old Pureblood families. I know for a fact that the Selwyns and the Rosiers fucking _hate_ each other. Some sort of old feud that no one's sure how it started. And Ralph Goyle - you know, Greggory's dad - he's been shagging Corban Yaxley's wife on the sly. And I already managed to get Godwin Avery kicked out of the Wizengamot for insider trading; he's on trial next week. This could totally work!"

She grinned at her fellow Flames but they were all staring at her with varying degrees of confusion.

"How the hell do you know all that stuff?" Ginny asked in astonishment. Hermione raised an eyebrow at Alaw whilst the latter went a little pink and coughed awkwardly.

"Well, I - I've kind've been keeping my ears open, you know? Just jotting down gossip I overhear among the Purebloods. Here."

She reached behind her and picked up the file she'd brought with her. She flipped it open to reveal the detailed list of misdeeds she'd been noting down for the past two years.

"You've been spying on the Slytherins?" Fred asked incredulously, snatching the file from her and thumbing through it.

"Not just the Slytherins," Alaw shrugged. "Anyone who bothers me, really. That prick Eddie Carmichael from Ravenclaw is in there somewhere, you know, the one who keeps ripping people off. I've got enough on him to land him in detention for the rest of his life. And don't look at me like that!" she cried when the others continued to stare at her. "It's just insurance, okay? People tend to leave me alone when they know I've got dirt on them. Trust me, it's worth sneaking around a bit to have some peace and quiet in the corridors. Hardly anyone calls me a mudblood anymore."

Fred, George and Ginny looked back down at the file, and then Fred grinned evilly.

"Al… This. Is. _Brilliant!_ Seriously, you could get half the school kicked out with this thing!"

"But how does that help us stop You-Know-Who?" asked Ron peevishly, apparently annoyed that his siblings were praising Alaw's Slytherin tenancies.

"Because he's bound to have recruited some of his Death Eaters' kids by now, and we already have _them_ by the short hairs," Alaw explained, proudly taking the file back from Fred. Ron snorted derisively.

"Oh, please, as if he's going to let those idiots be Death Eaters!" he chortled. Alaw and Hermione frowned at him.

"Ron, that's exactly what he'll do…" said Hermione slowly but Ron rolled his eyes.

"Come on, really? Nott and Crabbe and Goyle and Malfoy? Those lot you mean? They're complete morons! And they're still at school! Why would You-Know-Who want a bunch of kids in his club?"

"Because that's what he does!" Alaw snapped. "Voldemort isn't Dumbledore! He doesn't give a shit about people still being in school! He was happy to recruit people from Hogwarts in the last war. Young, angry, bored men are exactly the kinds of people nutters like Voldemort go for. They're easily swayed. Trust me on this, we see it all the time in the muggle world."

Ron still looked sceptical but he apparently couldn't think of a good enough argument, so he sat back and folded his arms. Neville glanced at Ron, and then spoke up.

"Okay, Al, maybe You-Know-Who will choose that lot to be Death Eaters in training, but they'll be in the same jam as us. They can't do much once we all go back to school."

"They can torment muggle-borns and half-bloods," said Alaw darkly. " _And_ they can recruit other Purebloods. Nah, that lot are just as dangerous as they parents. We should be on our guard around Theodore's gang this year, and we should warn as many muggle-borns as we can do to the same."

Hermione had been jotting all this down and her pen hovered over the short list of potential Death Eater recruits.

"Who else should I put on here?" she muttered to Alaw who frowned thoughtfully.

"No one, for now, we can add to it once we're back at Hogwarts and have more to go on. No need to brand anyone a Death Eater without proof."

Her eyes lingered on Draco's name and she tried not to sigh sadly. Then an idea occurred to her.

"Actually, there's something else I'd like to do," she said carefully. "You won't like it, but hear me out. There will be plenty of people whose parents will pressure them into joining Voldemort. Those people might not want to, but they'll have no choice, it's not really something you can opt out of is it? I think we should watch out for those people, you know, in case they ever need our help."

"You're talking about Draco, aren't you?" asked Ron with a resigned and slightly disgusted look. "I know you two got all pally last year, but if he's joined You-Know-Who, I don't think you owe him anything, Al. Except maybe a good kick up the backside."

Alaw scowled at Ron.

"Actually," she said acidly. "I wasn't just talking about Draco. I meant people like Cameron Boyle, and Daphne Greengrass. They'll be in real danger if they're branded blood-traitors. And you _do_ owe it to Daphne to help her, seeing as you were on the Quidditch team with her."

Ron groaned and squirmed, but he couldn't deny that she was right. So, 'Protect the Reluctant Students' was dutifully noted down by Hermione. She tapped the notepad with the point of her pen and pursed her lips.

"Anything else? Or have we covered everything?" she asked.

"Not quite," said Fred. "We still have to find out as much as we can from the Order before we go back to school. The Expendables were great when they worked, and we'll need as much information as possible."

"I agree," Alaw nodded. "I'm sick of being kept in the dark. We need to find a new way to listen in on their meetings, and we need to know more about this object – weapon – thingy that Voldemort is after."

Now that the Hearing was out of the way, Alaw had been thinking a lot about what had been said on her first night in Grimmauld Place. Sirius had been about to spill the beans on this mysterious 'object' Voldemort was so keen to lay his hands on, but Mrs Weasley had stopped him. _Dumbledore said on no account should you tell her about that._ Those had been her exact words. So what was it? And why couldn't she know about it? What could Voldemort want so badly that he was happy to put a hold on all his other plans?

"Sirius would be our best bet," mused Ginny. "He nearly told you what it was before. And I get the feeling he's not too happy with Dumbledore at the moment."

Alaw nodded, she had surmised as much herself. She couldn't believe Dumbledore was forcing Sirius to stay trapped in this house, which held so many bad memories for him. If she didn't get him out soon, Sirius was going to sink deep into depression. She nudged Hermione.

"Spy on Order," she murmured, tapping the notebook. Hermione grimaced, but wrote it down.

"So, we've got one month," said Fred with a grin. "Better get cracking, then."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 **Spreading the Word**

 _Alaw was walking down a long, dark corridor. The walls were covered in black, marble tiles and she could see a faint reflection of herself in them as she passed. Every few feet there was a torch burning in a bracket, showing her the way. At the end of her journey she came upon a door, which was completely black, with no handle, or keyhole. She raised a hand to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. Then she tried with both hands, pushing with all her might and grunting in frustration, but the door remained closed. She leant her palms on the surface of the wood and frowned, looking around the edges of the door for grooves, or hinges, but there was nothing._

" _Hello?" she called, knocking loudly. But there no answer._

* * *

If it hadn't been for the invisibility cloak, Alaw thought she would have gone completely mad with boredom in Grimmauld Place. Even with the ability to sneak out of the house, it looked like it would be a long month. Mrs Weasley was determined to keep all the young ones as busy as possible, perhaps so they wouldn't feel useless, or so they couldn't snoop on the Order. She had them scrubbing from breakfast till dinner most days, and their efforts were certainly making a difference to the old house. Most of the rooms were now as least free of mould and dark objects, though sometimes they came across things that they couldn't tackle without the help of an expert. They'd all backed hastily away when a cabinet they'd been about to move rattled ominously.

"Maybe it's a Boggart," Hermione suggested, peering into the keyhole gingerly.

"Maybe, but I think we should leave it for now," said Mrs Weasley, pulling Hermione away and frowning suspiciously at the shuddering handles. "I'll ask Mad-Eye to have a look the next time he's in."

The kitchen was still the cleanest and most used room in the house, though Alaw had high hopes of turning the drawing room into a decent place to hang out. She persuaded a moody Sirius to help her clean the sofas and rip up the threadbare carpet just a few days after the Hearing.

"It's no good to us like this," she grunted, tugging at a loose corner. "We're much better off polishing the floorboards and putting down some nice, new rugs."

Sirius seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit, eschewing his wand, and tearing the carpet up with gusto.

"I – really – hate – this – place," he said through gritted teeth as the floor groaned in protest.

"Really? Cause I couldn't tell," Alaw grinned.

It was just the two of them in the drawing room, everyone else was upstairs in one of the bathrooms, doing battle with an old ghoul which had taken up residence in the toilet. Alaw sat down on the arm of the sofa and wiped her brow, panting. The door opened and then shut again, and she looked over, but no one had entered. Then she heard a croaking voice say,

"What are they doing?! The blood-traitor and the Mudblood scum?"

She looked down in shock to see a strange little humanoid creature, peering around the edge of the sofa at Sirius, who was using a knife to pry the carpet away from the skirting board. The man – the voice had sounded male – was barely taller than Alaw's waist. He had a large, dome-like head, enormous pointy ears, and a snout of a nose. He was bent over and Alaw got an impression of great age and frailty, and he was watching Sirius with undisguised hatred.

"Hello," Alaw said politely.

The man ignored her, continuing to stare at Sirius, but he muttered under his breath,

"The Mudblood speaks, Kreacher will not look at her, Kreacher will not be tainted."

Alaw blinked in surprise and cocked her head. She suddenly made the connection between the man, who was apparently called Kreacher, and the shrunken heads on the landing. She also remembered seeing the statue of a being just like this at the Ministry of Magic, though that one had been considerably happier looking. At the time she'd thought it might be a Goblin, but she now had her doubts.

"Um, Sirius?" she called uncertainly, standing up and glancing at her godfather. Sirius looked up and scowled at the sight of the intruder.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

Kreacher bent into a comically low bow which conveyed nothing but mockery.

"Kreacher is cleaning," said Kreacher unctuously to which Sirius snorted.

"Like hell you are, I told you to stay in your disgusting little hole and out of everyone's way! If you want to pinch back all the crap my mother kept, you can do it at night when you won't bother anyone."

Alaw was startled at the harsh way Sirius addressed the little man but Kreacher seemed quite unperturbed.

"Of course Master, Kreacher lives to serve the house of Black." And then, in a low voice that was clearly audible, "Broke his mother's heart, what would my Mistress say? Her house defiled by Mudbloods and freaks, one stands so close to Kreacher now, Kreacher can smell its stink!"

"Get out you cretin!" Sirius snarled and Kreacher scampered for the door, disappearing through it and closing it behind him with a snap.

"Who the hell is that?!" Alaw demanded.

Sirius was giving the closed door a disgusted look.

"Kreacher," he growled. "My dear departed mum's mad old House Elf. He was always a bit cracked, even when I was a boy, but he's been on his own in this place ever since she died so he's gone even more round the twist. As you can tell from the state of this dump."

Sirius obviously thought he'd explained himself adequately because he went back to ripping up the carpet with renewed vigiour. Alaw remained where she was, frowning in confusion.

"What's a House Elf when it's at home?" she asked and Sirius nodded towards the door.

"That's a House Elf. You've never met one before? No, I suppose you wouldn't have. Well, House Elves are a race of magical Beings. Each one is bound to serve a magical family their entire lives. Usually it runs down family lines, Kreacher's mother served the Blacks before he did, and so on and so forth."

"Serve?" Alaw repeated, "You mean – the whole race – every single one – has to serve wizards? Why?"

"I don't know, they just do, it's what they like. It's how it's always been."

"What do you mean, it's what they like? Not every single Elf, surely, they're _all_ servants? That doesn't make any sense. And why did Kreacher stay here when you're mum died? Why didn't he leave? Find another job?"

"Kreacher would rather top himself than leave this house," Sirius laughed bitterly. "He's bound to the Blacks. Usually, if a wizarding line dies and there are still House Elves, they'll be left to some distant relative. But sometimes the Elves just stay where they are and rot. They can be a bit dim sometimes. Especially _that_ one."

Alaw stared at Sirius feeling deeply unsettled.

"Left, they can be left to other wizards in wills? They're slaves! You people keep slaves?!"

Sirius looked up at her horrified tone and frowned.

"Well, I suppose, you could put it like that. But there's no need to look so shocked, it's not slavery as the muggles know it. The Elves like it, like I said, it's how it's always been. It's their whole purpose in life."

But Alaw shook her head in utter disgust.

"That's vile, it's sick!" she said angrily. "No, that can't be right. We threw out slavery centuries ago! Ok, it still happens in some places, but it's not legal! What if the House Elves don't want to serve?"

"They do though, Al. Don't get yourself all upset about it, they're not like humans. They're quite content to do what they're told. If you tried freeing a House Elf they'd have a fit! They just can't cope when they don't have a master."

"Oh my god do you hear yourself?!" Alaw cried, now quite furious. "Replace the word 'Elf' with, oh I don't know, 'African', and you'll hear how terrible it sounds!"

"They're not people like us, Al, they don't think the same way," said Sirius, standing up and speaking in a soothing way. He obviously couldn't understand why she was so upset. "It's not the same kind of situation. What happened to Black slaves was terrible, obviously, but this isn't the same!"

There was obviously no point arguing with Sirius about it. Alaw threw him an angry look before stalking out of the drawing room. She feared that if she stayed she'd only end up punching something in frustration.

Hermione, of course, had agreed with Alaw when she told her about Kreacher, but the others had just laughed at them. They'd stopped fairly quickly when Hermione grew not only angry but upset, shouting at them about being selfish idiots. It had been a very quiet dinner that evening, no one wanting to set her off again. The next morning, Alaw's temper still hadn't abated so she'd thrown on the invisibility cloak and slipped out of the house just after breakfast to cool off. She caught the train to Camden and before long she was striding through the front door of the Mended Cauldron.

"Oh hello again," called Jenny cheerfully, looking up from the table she was wiping down. There were a few other patrons dotted about the place, chatting over coffee or staring at their phones or laptops. "Knew you wouldn't stay away long, no Muggle-born does."

"Yeah, I need my fill of Wi-Fi before I go back to school," Alaw agreed fervently. She approached the counter and peered at the cakes on display. "Can I have a bit of that Salted Caramel Cake?"

"Sure," said Jenny, rounding the counter and sliding open the glass panel. Alaw gazed at her curiously and then asked,

"So, when were you at Hogwarts?"

"Oh I graduated five years ago now, didn't fancy taking a desk job in the Ministry so I opened this place not long after. Business is pretty good, especially in the summer months when you lot are off school."

"And I see you were a Hufflepuff," said Alaw, nodding at the scarf pinned proudly on the wall behind Jenny.

"Yep, a Badger through and through. What about you?"

"Slytherin," said Alaw, accepting her cake with a nod of thanks. Jenny raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really?" she asked. "And here was me thinking you were a Muggle-born. Half-blood then?"

"No I am Muggle-born."

A crease appeared in Jenny's forehead and she gave Alaw an appraising look.

"I know who you are, you're Allow aren't you?"

" _A-_ law, yes." Alaw corrected automatically. "You've heard of me?"

"Oh yeah, all anyone could talk about a few years ago. And it was in the paper wasn't it? And on Mugglenet."

Alaw scowled and directed her attention to her purse. She wasn't likely to forget the article Rita Skeeter had written about her following her Sorting. In the article, Skeeter had called it a 'freak turn of events' and had suggested that the Sorting Hat was somehow broken, and that Dumbledore was behind the whole thing. Many of Alaw's fellow students had taken the article as permission to harass her wherever she went, jinxing her in the corridors and shouting slurs at her as she passed. The teachers had tried to crack down on the bullying, but they hadn't been entirely successful.

Things had come to ahead shortly before Christmas, when Alaw had been ambushed in the Slytherin Common Room, kicked and hexed, and then been thrown out. When she had tried to go back later she'd been chased off by Theodore and his friends who'd threatened her with the Crutiatus curse. Hence her new accommodation on the sixth floor. Jenny was nodding grimly.

"That article was disgusting," she said with feeling. "Me friends and I, we were so angry when we heard about it! We even wrote in to the Daily Prophet, and the Minister for Magic's office, but we never heard back. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that."

Alaw blinked in surprise and then a grateful smile broke on her face.

"Thanks, it did suck for a few weeks, but things got better over time. Sort of, well not really, but I learnt to deal with it."

As Jenny took her money and rummaged around in the till for her change, Alaw squinted at her thoughtfully.

"Have you – uh – have you heard any rumours going around this summer? About what happened at the end of last term?" Alaw asked cautiously. Jenny didn't answer immediately, and when she handed over the change she gave Alaw an unreadable look.

"I heard some things, yeah," she said coolly. "My brother, Ritchie, he's still at school in Gryffindor. He was telling me about what Dumbledore said at the end of term feast."

Alaw knew Ritchie Coot, vaguely, he was in the year below her and he'd always struck her as a bit annoying.

"And – what do you think?"

"And I don't know. Dumbledore says You-Know-Who's back from the dead, the Prophet says Dumbledore's crazy. I know which one sounds more believable. Then again, this is the same Prophet that has a go at Muggle-borns who get Sorted into Slytherin and basically calls us scum. So I don't know. Ritchie said you were involved in all that."

"You could say that," said Alaw darkly. She glanced around the café again. There weren't too many people in, but she couldn't tell if they were Muggles or Wizards so she dropped her voice a little. "Look, I'd really like to talk to you about this if that's ok? I've been planning to spread the word before I go back to Hogwarts."

Jenny agreed to hear her out and after calling a spotty youth from the back room to mind the till, she directed Alaw to a vacant booth.

"Alright, why don't you tell me your side of the story?" Jenny suggested.

* * *

About two hours later, Hermione entered the Mended Cauldron. She'd texted Alaw, wanting to know where she'd disappeared to, and Alaw had urged her to come and meet up with her. Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw Alaw surrounded by a group of people, all with their laptops out and typing furiously.

"Al, what's going on?" Hermione asked, squeezing in between two lads and peering at the assembled tech. Alaw looked up excitedly.

"Hermione! You made it, finally. Check it out, Jenny helped me set up this post of Mugglenet."

Alaw turned her laptop around so that Hermione could read the headline of the post. _A WARNING TO ALL MUGGLE-BORNS AND HALF-BLOODS: VOLDEMORT IS BACK._ Beneath it was a short, straight to the point post about Voldemort's return and the Ministry cover-up.

"We've had over a thousand hits in the last hour, that's got to be half the Muggle-borns and Half-bloods in the country!" said Alaw proudly. "And loads of people have posted, some from abroad!"

"What, they believe you?!" Hermione asked.

"Well, some have just been trolling the page, calling me a crazy bitch and all that. But there have been a few asking for more details. I just got a private message from Dean, he says he wants to know more. And Candice has reposted on her page in support, you remember her? She was on the American Quidditch team. Really nice girl."

Hermione sat down on the bench next to Alaw and clicked through the posts.

"I had no idea you were good at this social media stuff Al," she said, sounding impressed. Alaw shook her head.

"I'm not, I suck at that stuff. Jenny did most of it, and Carl. Oh right, sorry, Hermione, these are Jenny's friends. That's Carl, and Amy, and Sam. They're all obviously Muggle-borns like us. Apart from Sam, he's a Pureblood but he's been converted to the ways of the 21st Century."

Hermione nodded weakly to everyone who greeted her cheerfully before going back to their computers.

"And here was me thinking you'd stormed off because you were upset!" Hermione muttered.

"Oh I had, but I'm over that now. This is the easiest way to let Muggle-borns know that Voldemort's out there."

There was a pause as Hermione scanned the post again. Some of the comments were quite vile in the language they used to describe Alaw and Hermione shivered.

"Al, this is great, but aren't you worried that the Ministry will crack down on it? They could arrest you for spreading 'false' information."

"I know it's a possibility," Alaw agreed gravely. "But they couldn't arrest me, I haven't broken any law. There's nothing illegal about stating what I think happened. All they can do is contradict me, which will only bring more attention to the issue. And besides, I don't even know if the Ministry knows about this website."

"They'll have someone keeping an eye on it," Hermione warned. "Someone in the Law Enforcement Department I'll bet."

Alaw shrugged.

"Still not illegal. The website is set up to look like a bunch of nerds fighting about some sort of roleplaying game. No Muggle is going to guess what's really going on just by looking at Mugglenet."

The girls stayed the café for another hour, adding to the page about Voldemort and answering the flood of messages that came in. They ignored all those from people calling them crazy and blocked any that became too aggressive, but there were plenty who seemed genuinely curious or worried. Alaw had a long conversation with Penelope Clearwater who wanted to know which students to avoid when term started. Alaw told her all she knew, but avoided naming any names on the public page, because that really would be illegal without proof.

When they left the Mended Cauldron, Alaw thanked Jenny and her friends profusely for their help and they promised her that they would continue to maintain the page once she was back at Hogwarts. Alaw walked towards the train station feeling quite proud and when she caught sight of bookshop she decided to treat herself.

"Can we look in here? Just for a few minutes?" she asked.

Hermione was the last person in the world resist the lure of new books so the girls went in to browse. Alaw made a beeline for the Sci-Fi and Fantasy section and flicked through the new releases idly, until a display in the corner caught her eye. The table was dedicated to Tolkein and Alaw picked up a copy of the Hobbit fondly. It was a handsome, leather bound thing and she smiled to herself.

"I thought you already had that book?" Hermione said with a frown as Alaw paid for it.

"It's not for me, it's for a friend," Alaw said evasively.

Hermione seemed to understand who she was talking about and seemed on the verge of saying something about it, but she just closed her mouth and shook her head with a sigh. She had never understood Alaw's strange friendship with Draco, but had given up commenting on it.

* * *

The drawing room was looking a lot less depressing now that Alaw had had a chance to spruce the place up. The floorboards were newly polished and the mouldy curtains had been ripped down. They hadn't been replaced yet but at least they didn't have to put up with the smell anymore. There were a few brightly coloured cushions and throws on the sofas as well which clashed unashamedly with the gloomy wallpaper.

"Sirius mate, make a move already," Alaw sighed. Sirius, who had been frowning at the chessboard for over two minutes, held up a hand and kept his eyes on the piece.

"Now now, don't rush me," he chided.

Alaw rolled her eyes and took a long draught of her beer. She and Sirius were alone in the drawing room that evening and they were passing the time by drinking and chatting. Hermione was presumably reading one of her new books and the boys and Ginny had been in the kitchen the last time Alaw had been down for a refill.

"Sirius," Alaw whined and her godfather reached forward to move his bishop.

"Check," he said smugly and Alaw scowled, resting her chin in her hand and trying to work out how to save her King without having to sacrifice the Queen.

"You're a pain in my arse Black," she complained and Sirius smirked.

Their argument about Kreacher notwithstanding, Sirius' mood had lightened considerably ever since the young ones had come to stay in the house. He'd turned a blind eye to their many attempts to eavesdrop on Order conversations, though he wasn't outright helping them. Yet.

"I hear you'll be having a full Order meeting next week," Alaw said lightly, reaching forward to move her rook and then thinking better of it. Sirius gave her a look, as if he knew exactly what she was doing.

"Yes," he said slowly. "Yes, we are."

"Do you think Dumbledore will actually talk to me if I try, or will he blank me again?" Alaw asked, now peering at her knight and wondering if she felt like losing him. He saw her looking and shook his head furiously at her. Sirius sighed.

"I still don't understand why he did that," he muttered.

"Maybe I've disappointed him one time too many," Alaw mused. "I haven't exactly been an ideal student, always mouthing off at him. I had a proper go at him at the end of term when he said I couldn't join the Order. Then there was the whole France incident."

"Al, I'm sure that's not the case," Sirius said firmly. "Look, when Remus and I were at school we were a right bunch of outlaws, always getting into trouble. But Dumbledore never gave up on us, or James."

Alaw gave her godfather an incredulous look but refrained from saying what was on her mind. Dumbledore had believed that Sirius was guilty of betraying the Order and had left him to rot in Azkaban for twenty years, never bothering to find if there was more to the story. That, in Alaw's opinion, was the very definition of giving up on someone. But it wasn't wise to argue with someone when one was trying to extract information.

"Maybe, I know he's just trying to protect us," Alaw said, trying to sound sincere and not sarcastic. "But he's treating us like little kids. We deserve to know _something_."

She let that hang and decided she was willing to kill off her knight to protect her king and queen. She prodded him into place where he quivered before Sirius' bishop. Sirius didn't order him to take the knight immediately, he was looking deeply troubled and not saying anything. After a lengthy pause, Alaw decided to give him another prompt.

"I'm scared, Sirius, I'm scared of what it's going to be like when we go back to school."

She wasn't really acting here, she was scared of what might happen. What would Theodore and Crabbe and Goyle be like now that they had a powerful master to back them up and goad them on? Before it was just jinxes and jibes, how long would it take for them to learn darker spells, and get the stomach to use them?

"I won't tell you not to worry, Al, because I think you deserve not to be mollycoddled. But I don't think anything too bad will happen as long as Dumbledore is there. And McGonagall too, she's in the Order, she knows what's going on."

Alaw made a mental note to add McGonagall's name to their list of confirmed Order members. They'd been fairly certain she was involved, but this was the first proper proof they'd had.

"But we don't even know who exactly the Death Eater's all are!" Alaw pressed, letting a little desperation leak into her voice. "We don't know where Voldemort is hiding, or what his plans are. We'll just be sat in school whilst he's out there, doing god knows what."

She was being a little obvious now but she was sure Sirius wanted to tell her the answers to these questions. He glanced quickly towards the door and pursed his lips, thinking. Then he turned back to Alaw and lowered his voice.

"Well we don't even know who all the Death Eaters are, Al, we only have some names and you could probably guess some of them. And as to where he's hiding, well, Voldemort's probably got plenty of private little holes to slither into when he wants alone time. But you can probably guess where his main base of operations is."

"The home of one of his Death Eaters," Alaw muttered slowly and Sirius nodded, seeming to want her to riddle it out for herself. "One of the old, rich family homes, with lots of protective wards."

"The home of someone who was loyal to him before…" Sirius prompted and Alaw frowned.

"Someone the Ministry won't bother…Lucius Malfoy?" Alaw guessed and Sirius gave the tiniest nod before whispering urgently,

"You didn't hear that from me! I'm only telling you this so you won't go mad thinking about it. You could have figured that out yourself anyway."

Alaw smiled gratefully and then also glanced towards the door. She was doing well, this was the most info they'd managed to extract in all the weeks they'd been trying, which said something about how close-lipped everyone had been. Did she dare go further?

"What's this object Voldemort wants?" she asked, throwing caution to the wind. "The thing he didn't have last time?"

Sirius frowned and sat back, taking and sip of his drink before shaking his head. Ah, she'd gone too far.

"Can't tell you that Al, sorry. I made a promise to Dumbledore."

Alaw huffed and sat back too, folding her arms and crossing her legs. After staring at Sirius for a moment she asked,

"Can you at least tell me where the damn thing is? Somewhere really hard to break into I hope."

Sirius scowled and played with his drink.

"It is hard to break into, almost impossible. But that it, Al! No more digging. Now let's just finish this game and hear no more about it."

Alaw decided to drop it for the time being. She'd extracted some decent information, even though her most pressing questions had gone unanswered. They finished the game, Sirius beating her soundly in only a few more moves, before returning to the kitchen to socialise with the others. But though Alaw didn't raise the issue again, she had by no means forgotten it. Everything was riding on this Order meeting next week, it would be their last chance to find anything out before they went back to school, and Alaw was determined to make the most of it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

 **Turf War**

The night of the meeting arrived and Alaw had offered to go out and get food from the take-away place around the corner, to save Mrs Weasley having to cook anything. Mrs Weasley had been reluctant but was also tempted by the thought of a night off kitchen duty, so had agreed. Alaw was looking at her phone as she came down the stairs with her handbag slung over one shoulder. The sound of the front door closing drew her attention and she froze. Professor Dumbledore had just entered. He didn't look in Alaw's direction, he just crossed the hall and disappeared into the kitchen. The only other person in the hall was Sirius and he glanced apologetically at Alaw.

"Sorry kiddo, looks like the meeting's starting early. You just get food for you and the others upstairs, we'll be fine."

Then he followed the headmaster and closed the kitchen door behind him quietly. Alaw glared after him, irritation flooding through her. Damn! She hadn't had time to set up their carefully arranged plan! She would have to improvise. She stood motionless on the stairs for a few moments, her mind whirring, and then she smiled and tiptoed down the last few steps and across the chequered tiles.

"Thank you all for coming," said Dumbledore to the gathered members of the Order. "I thought it important to have one last full meeting before the school year began again. Most of us will be too busy in the coming months for such a gathering."

It had taken them a while to get started as they'd been waiting on Alastor, who'd had guard duty that evening. Sturgis had taken over from him so he would unfortunately miss the proceedings, but Dumbledore trusted one the other members to fill him in. The headmaster glanced down at the list of subjects they needed to cover and was about to begin when the door of the kitchen opened once again.

"Sorry it took so long," Alaw sighed, setting a teetering pile of flat cardboard boxes on the sideboard. "But it's a Friday and the pizza place was packed. Anywhoo, who had the Chicken Supreme?"

There had been a great flurry of movement at the table when Alaw entered as people hurried to cover important documents, and Moody flipped his ledger shut with a snap.

"Alaw," said Dumbledore sternly. "You know you aren't allowed to attend these meetings. Kindly leave the room."

Alaw acted as if she hadn't heard him and began passing out boxes.

"Right, Sirius, that's a Meat Feast for you to share with Lupin. Mrs Weasley, there's your Margarita, I promise, it's the plainest thing on the menu. Mr Weasley, that's your Pepperoni."

Dumbledore shook his head in deep disapproval as Alaw moved around the table. Across from the headmaster, Sirius was trying his best to contain his laughter and even Lupin seemed to be hiding a smile.

"This is not amusing," Dumbledore said, injecting a little more anger into his voice but once again Alaw completely ignored him, not even glancing up from her boxes.

"Uh, who had the Vegetarian?"

"Mine," grunted Moody and Dumbledore looked at him in surprise. Moody just shrugged in a 'what can you do?' sort of way, and accepted his dinner.

"And I got you a Veggie option too Sir, cause I didn't know what you liked," said Alaw, handing the final box to Severus who accepted it without comment. "Ok people, have fun with your little meeting, us kids are having a board game night upstairs."

Alaw flounced to the door where she turned and gave Dumbledore the most spiteful look she could muster before disappearing up the stairs. She left the door open so Tonks, who was barely containing her giggles, had to get up and close it. Sirius opened his box and took a deep sniff before saying,

"You should be proud Snivellus, she's a Slytherin through and through that one."

Many hours later, when Grimmauld Place was quiet and all the oil lamps had been extinguished, Alaw stole back downstairs. Most of the Order members, including Dumbledore, had left at the end of the meeting. She and Neville had sat on the landing and jotted down each of their names as they passed through the front door. The Flames now had a decent list of Order members tucked into one of Alaw's many files.

Alaw did her best to tread lightly of the stairs to avoid any creaks, but it was an old house and some noise was unavoidable. She made it to the hall and crept past the portrait of Sirius' mother, which was snoring lightly behind its curtain. After easing open the kitchen door and stealing down the stairs, Alaw blinked in the near total darkness. The only light came from the single tiny window set near the ceiling, where the orange glare of streetlamp filtered through. Alaw groped around on the countertop, her fingers first encountering the coffee jar, and then her phone which she had planted behind it when she set the pizza boxes down.

"Ha, not so clever now," she muttered, thinking smugly about Dumbledore. In all his wisdom, he never suspected they'd turn to muggle technology for help.

"What is the mudblood doing?"

Alaw nearly had a heart attack and she let out a yelp like a dog, spinning around to look for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?" she asked, her voice slightly higher than usual.

"No one," croaked the voice again, now with a mocking tone. "No one important. Only poor Kreacher."

In the gloom, Alaw could now make out the small, stooped shape of the House Elf. He was standing by the cupboard which contained the boiler and he was glaring at Alaw shrewdly.

"The Mudblood is sneaking," he hissed. "Sneaking around in the dark. Kreacher knows what she and her filthy friends are up to, oh yes, Kreacher knows more than anyone thinks!"

That was probably true. The way Sirius spoke about Kreacher made Alaw sure that most witches and wizards didn't even notice when House Elves were around. He must know all the secrets of the Order.

"Please don't call me that," Alaw said quietly.

She felt great pity for Kreacher, he obviously had a miserable existence here and he was suffering from some sort of mental health issues. Sirius treated him with dirt, and everyone else acted as if he was just another household appliance, like a hoover, or a broom. But she still wasn't going let his casually sling racial slurs at her.

"Please don't call me that!" Kreacher repeated with a cackle and Alaw rolled her eyes. There was no reasoning with the House Elf, so she left the kitchen with her phone tucked safely into her dressing gown pocket.

"Got it!" Alaw said once she'd slipped back into her bedroom. Hermione, Neville and the Weasleys were all gathered there, perched on the beds or the windowsill.

"Nice one, I was worried someone would notice it," said Ron but Alaw shook her head.

"Nah, all they'd see is a phone. They don't know they can record things."

She sat down on the vacant chair and opened her phone. The recording app was of course still running so she stopped it.

"Five hours of material," she sighed, "But we only need the first hour or so."

They'd timed how long the meeting had lasted for this very reason, and Alaw scrolled back to the beginning of the recording, and pressed play. The first five minutes was just a lot of scraping as the microphone brushed against Alaw's hand, then there was thunk, indicating when she'd set down on the sideboard.

"Blimy that's crappy quality," Alaw muttered as they listened to snatches of the pizza debacle. "I knew all the magic in the air would interfere with it!"

"Well you can sort of work out what's being said," said Hermione optimistically. She cocked her head and leant closer to the phone, which Alaw held out so they could all listen.

" _Proud - Slyth - through a- through,_ " said a muffled voice.

"Is that Sirius?" Ginny mouthed and they all shrugged.

 _" - kind of stunt is more Gryff - Black,"_ said another voice, which Alaw was fairly sure belonged to Snape.

 _" - nuff, let's get on with the meeting,"_ said Dumbledore.

Alaw glanced up at Hermione and nodded, and her friend raised her notepad and pen, poised to jot down what was said. Over the next two hours, the Flames listened in on the Order's big meeting. It took twice as long as the actual meeting because they kept having to rewind parts to make out what was being said, or who was saying it.

They listened to Bill give a report about someone called Travers and his attempt to set up a meeting with one of the Goblins at Gringotts, Gornuk. There was lot of debate among the Order about what to do if the Goblins did join forces with Voldemort, though Bill thought it unlikely given that Gornuk had told Travers to suck it.

There was then a conversation about Godwin Avery's day in court. As expected, he'd been fined five hundred galleons and suspended from the Wizengamot for twelve months. He was still allowed to charge for legal advice but he couldn't represent anyone before the court. Most of the Order thought this an extremely light punishment for his crime of insider trading and leaking confidential Ministry documents to foreign investors, but Dumbledore was pleased that Voldemort's main source of information in the courts was gone.

Alaw was quite amused when the Order began to discuss how the Ministry had caught Avery. An anonymous tip off had been sent to the Daily Prophet and the subsequent investigation by the Wizengamot had thrown up much of the evidence. Moody thought the tip off might have been from a rival barrister, and several names were suggested. The Flames all grinned at each other.

Every time a spell was cast, even something as small as a summoning charm, the microphone registered it as a horrible, piercing shriek and everyone listening would wince and rub their ears.

"For god's sake!" Alaw snapped after this happened for the fifth time. "Just get up and get it yourself you lazy fucks! Do they have to use their wands for everything?!"

"Wait wait," Hermione cried. "Go back, that bit was about guard duty. Didn't you guys say they were always talking about guard duty when we were in France?"

Ginny and the twins nodded and Alaw dragged the recording back about thirty seconds and they all listened raptly.

 _"We'll need to s - out a new rota for guard duty once M - rva and Severus go back to wor -,"_ said Mad-Eye.

 _"I'll take extra shifts,"_ said Lupin.

" _Good, Vol - mort will probably make another move on the Pro – sy soon,"_ said Dumbledore gravely and whilst the Weasleys and Neville cringed at the sound of the name, Hermione and Alaw looked sharply at each other.

"What was that word? Everyone shut up! Listen," Alaw cried, rewinding and focusing on the distorted word. "Prophesy? Is that what he said?"

"It sounds like it," Hermione muttered uncertainly. "Let's keep listening and see if they say it again."

Moody was now speaking and his gruff voice was even harder to make out that anyone else's.

" _Selwyn's been sn – ping around the corridor ag – in. – should think ab – ing more patrols do – there."_

There were then a pause and a few mutterings that were simply too vague to riddle out. Then Sirius spoke, and his voice was much clearer as he had been sat closest to the phone.

" _I still don't see why we can't just tell Alaw about the Prophesy."_

" _Sirius, we have been over this a hundred times before and my answer has not changed,"_ said Dumbledore, and it was clear even with the bad audio quality that he was angry. Sirius however, didn't let it lie.

" _Oh come on, Al has a right to know about the damn thing at the very least. She's a bright girl, she won't stop trying to find out. She's been asking me hundreds of questions for weeks."_

"It was like two Sirius, don't be dramatic," Alaw murmured, resting her head in her hand and frowning at the phone.

" _It is absolutely essential that Alaw not find out about the Prophesy,"_ Dumbledore insisted. _"It is more important than any of you realise."_

" _But it's about her, Albus, she has a right! And we don't even know what it says, and neither does Voldemort. Where's the harm in telling her?"_ Sirius argued. It was nice to hear her godfather standing up for her like that but Dumbledore shut him down.

" _I don't want to hear any more about it, Sirius. Alaw is far safer not knowing anything. Trust me."_

 _Trust you? I trust you about as far as I can chuck you_ , Alaw thought angrily. But Sirius didn't say anything else on the matter and the meeting soon wrapped up. Alaw stopping the recording and closed her phone, looking around at the others who were all watching her.

"Well, that was illuminating," she said. "I guess we now know what the 'object' Voldemort wants is."

"A Prophesy, a Prophesy about you, Al," said Neville quietly. "This is big."

Whatever Alaw had expected the object to turn out to be, it certainly hadn't been this. She had been imagining some kind of weapon, like a potion, or a magical artefact, something Voldemort would use in the war. But it was information he sought, information about Alaw.

"I don't know anything about Prophesies," she admitted. "I kind of assumed it was all a load of crap, like the stuff Trelawney comes out with. All star-signs and tea leaves and shit. Are we saying there are real Prophesies in the wizarding world?"

"Oh yeah, Seers are definitely real," George said, nodding fervently. "People used to take their kids to a Seer when they were born, to see what their futures would be like. But they were always quite vague and people got disappointed, so they became quite old fashioned."

Hermione and Alaw exchanged sceptical looks. Personally, Alaw wouldn't want to know the future of her child, that would just open up a whole can of worms.

"So, where are Prophesies kept?" Hermione asked. "Is there a library of some sorts for them? How does it work?"

"I don't know where they're kept," said Fred, frowning in thought. "All I know about Seers is that they go into a sort of trance when they make a Prophesy, and they always make it to someone specific, or a group of people. And then the Seer doesn't even remember it afterwards, it's like people who have funny turns but then carry on like nothing happened."

"There's got to be a library somewhere," said Ginny. "And that's what the Order are guarding! That's where You-Know-Who is trying to break into."

Alaw's brow creased and she rested her head in her hand again. This was a huge breakthrough, but as they knew next to nothing about Prophesies, they would have to research them as soon as possible. The Hogwarts library would surely have something on the subject. She was about to suggest this when they heard a creak outside the door and they all jumped, Hermione stuffing her notes under a pillow and Alaw hiding the phone from sight. They listened, all frozen in place, but there was no further sound.

"I hate this house," Ron muttered. "It's creepy!"

"We should all go to bed, before we get caught," Hermione sighed. "We'll talk more about this Prophesy stuff in the morning."

Having gone to sleep so late, Alaw was exhausted by the time morning rolled around, and she opted to stay in bed and skip breakfast. By the time she got up and dressed, everyone else had been awake for hours and were scattered around the house, pursuing their own activities. With only two days left before they went back to Hogwarts, Mrs Weasley had been nagging them all to have their things packed.

Mrs Weasley and Sirius were the only people in the kitchen when Alaw entered it, the former was busy making lunch – vegetable soup by the smell of it.

"Good afternoon," said Sirius from behind his Daily Prophet as Alaw pottered around, making herself a cup of tea.

"Shut up, it's not that late," Alaw grumbled, groping in a jar for a teabag. Mrs Weasley pointed her wand at a pile of potatoes that started peeling themselves and chopping into chunks.

"Lunch will be ready in about an hour dear, but I can make you a sandwich if you're really hungry," she offered.

"Thanks, but I'm ok with my tea," said Alaw, now putting the kettle on the hob. "Um, but can you light the oven for me please?"

Mrs Weasley flicked her wand at the hob which ignited and Alaw smiled gratefully. Sirius folded up the paper and threw it to one side.

"So, that was quite a stunt you pulled last night," he said and Alaw rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't a stunt, I was just bring you dinner. I didn't know the meeting had already started. Did everyone like their pizza?"

Mrs Weasley glanced anxiously at her.

"Yes dear, it was lovely. But you know you really shouldn't treat Professor Dumbledore like that. It was very rude."

"I treat him the way he's been treating me," said Alaw stubbornly. "I won't let him get away with it!"

Neither Sirius nor Mrs Weasley seemed to have an answer for this so Sirius sighed and changed the subject.

"Well, your Hogwarts letters arrived this morning, and about time too. Can you take them upstairs to the others?"

He picked up a pile of letters from the table next to him and offered them to Alaw. Hers' was at the top, her name and address written out in Snape's spidery scrawl.

"Arthur and I are going to go into town this afternoon to collect all your new books," Mrs Weasley explained. "It's far too dangerous for you youngsters to go yourselves."

For once, Alaw didn't argue with her. It was alright for her to wander around muggle London, hidden amongst millions of other people, but Diagon Alley was very exposed and exactly the sort of place Voldemort would have staked out. So Alaw finished making her tea and took her cup and the letters back upstairs. She found the twins and Ginny in the drawing room, playing exploding snap, and Neville and Ron were in their room on the first landing. Hermione was busy on the second floor, packing.

"Hogwarts letters," Alaw said, tossing Hermione's to her and sitting down on the bed to open her own. It felt oddly thick for some reason.

"I thought we would never get them!" said Hermione crossly. "We've only got two days to buy all our new books!"

"Mrs Weasley said she was going to go into Diagon Alley later for them. Got to remember to give her our Gringotts keys," said Alaw absently, slitting open the envelope and pulling out the letter.

It was the usual message about catching the train from Platform 9 ¾ and a short list of new books. But there was something else in the envelope and Alaw frowned. She tipped it upside down and something slid out into her open hand. Alaw stared at the object, dumbfounded. It was a badge, showing the Slytherin crest in green enamel, with a large P in the middle. A prefect badge.

"No fucking way," she murmered, turning the badge over and over, shaking her head.

No, there was no way in hell that Snape would have picked her to be a prefect. Even if he thought she was the right choice, he wasn't stupid, he knew how the other Slytherins would react, how their mummies and daddies would react!

"Oh my goodness!" Hermione squealed, breaking Alaw out of her reverie. Alaw's head snapped up and she saw that Hermione was holding a similar badge, only hers' was red, instead of green. Well, that wasn't exactly a surprise.

"Well done!" Alaw said, jumping up and hurrying across the room to have a look. "I knew you'd get that."

Hermione beamed at her and hugged her tightly.

"Mum and Dad'll be so pleased!" she said happily. "I mean, I was hoping, but I didn't want to assume I'd be picked."

"Oh come on, it was obviously going to be you," said Alaw, smiling. Hermione blushed a little and looked down, but in doing so she caught sight of the badge in Alaw's hand. She gasped.

"Oh! Al, well done! Why didn't you say anything?" she asked in surprise and Alaw grimaced, shoving her badge in her back pocket.

"I don't know what Snape is playing at," she said, shaking her head. "Why has he done this? Theodore Nott is going to have a fit when he finds out! Not to mention Lucius Malfoy and them lot."

Hermione pursed her lips in thought and then her eyes lit up.

"Maybe it was Dumbledore," she said and Alaw cocked her head in puzzlement. "It's not just the heads of house who choose the prefects, Dumbledore must have a say in it too. Maybe he chose you."

"Well why would he do that?" Alaw asked scornfully. "He's done nothing but fob me off all summer!"

"Maybe he's trying to make up for it?" Hermione suggested doubtfully and Alaw snorted. Somehow she didn't think Dumbledore would make her a prefect for such a superficial reason. He was playing some sort of game and she did not want to play.

"Come on," she said, trying to shake off her scowl and look happy for Hermione's sake. "Let's go and tell the boys."

Hermione still looked worried but the prospect of telling the others about her triumph perked her up considerably. The girls hurried down the stairs and entered the boys' bedroom in time to see Ron aim a punch at Fred who was laughing raucously. Fred dodged easily and he and George continued to guffaw.

"What's going on?" Alaw asked, glancing at Neville and Ginny who were watching the proceedings from the corner.

"Guess who's been made an ickle prefect!" Fred crowed and Alaw and Hermione looked at Ron, whose face was beetroot red, in surprise.

"Really?" Hermione asked, astonished. "Ron, that's wonderful! Me and Al too!"

She waved her badge and him and the twins stopped laughing. Everyone gaped at Alaw who took her own badge out with more reluctance.

"Yeah, it's just Dumbledore messing with us," she said quickly. "But it's great for these two! Let's just concentrate on that."

She didn't really want to discuss her badge, not when it meant so much more to Hermione. But the others continued to stare at her, making her feel uncomfortable and she was incredibly relieved when Mrs Weasley came in with a basket of clean laundry.

"Have you all had a look at your book lists?" she asked, putting the basket on Ron's bed and starting to sort through it. "If you could all just give them to me, I'll go into town after we've had some lunch. Ron, these pyjamas are getting quite old you know, would you like some new ones?"

"Get him ones with gold frills to match his badge," said George and Ron shot his brother a venomous look.

"What badge?" asked Mrs Weasley absently, removing some of Neville's clothes from the basket and placing them to one side.

"His prefect badge," Fred sighed, with a very resigned air. "His lovely new Gryffindor prefect badge."

Mrs Weasley stared at Fred for a moment before turning to Ron whose skin tone suggested he'd been swimming in a volcano.

"Ron – you're not – you don't have," Mrs Weasley said uncertainly. Then she saw the badge in his hand and let out a squeal of excitement. She hurried across the room to wrap her youngest son in a tight embrace. "Oh I don't believe it! Oh Ron this is wonderful, I'm so proud of you! Third prefect in the family! You wait until I tell your father about this!"

Behind her, Fred, George and Ginny were pretending to be sick and Neville seemed to be trying his best not to laugh. Ron was squirming.

"Mum, get off," he grumbled. "It's not that big a deal!"

"Oh yes it is!" said Mrs Weasley firmly. "Now then, we gave Percy an owl as his reward, what would you like?"

Whilst Ron's sullen expression vanished in an instant at the prospect of a present of his choice, Alaw glanced at Hermione and jerked her head towards the door. Hermione followed her, as did Neville.

"Why don't we find somewhere with decent signal?" she suggested once they were out on the landing. "Then you can message your parents the good news."

"And you can tell yours!" Hermione reminded her and Alaw grimaced. For some reason, she simply wasn't able to summon any excitement at the prospect.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 **The Woes of Mrs Weasley**

When Alaw and Hermione came downstairs that evening, they found that the kitchen table had been moved against the far wall and a spread of nibbles laid out on it.

"We're having a bit of a party," said Mrs Weasley happily as she came in from the pantry. "Not a sit down dinner, I thought it would be nice."

A spangled banner had been pinned up over the food that read 'Congratulations to our new Perfects!'.

"Oh, thank you," said Hermione, her face going a little pink. "This is really very kind."

"I'm getting a drink," said Alaw, turning towards Sirius who was already holding out a bottle of beer. "Do you want something, Mrs Weasley?"

"Oh I don't think so dear," said Mrs Weasley hurriedly but Mr Weasley, who had just come in with Ron and Neville, clapped his hands.

"That's an excellent idea, I'll open a bottle of Elvish Wine. Come on Molly, so we can toast the young ones?"

Mrs Weasley was persuaded to take a glass, and then another as more and more people arrived. The twins immediately drew Mundungus to one side when he turned up and fell into quiet discussion over in the corner. Hermione was talking to Lupin about what it was like to be a prefect, with Kingsley and Tonks occasionally joining in, and Ron was waxing lyrical about the new owl he'd been given. Alaw leant against the wall, a plate in her hand and munching on mini sausage rolls in a pensive way. Sirius came over with another couple of beers in his hand.

"Want one?" he asked, proffering a bottle which Alaw took gratefully. Sirius leant against the wall beside her.

"What has you looking so thoughtful?" he asked. Alaw took her time chewing before answering.

"Dumbledore."

"Ah," Sirius sighed. "You're not trying to work out how to poison him are you?"

"No!" Alaw cried indignantly, but then she paused. "Although, if he did drive a car I would be very tempted to slash his tyres. But no, I'm still wondering why he's made me a prefect."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"I thought it was Snivillous who chose the perfects."

"Usually, but I don't think Snape did this. He'd have picked Pansy Parkinson, if he was trying to please the rich people. Or Daphne, if he was being fair. But he'd never pick me.'

"Give you a lot of flack does he?" asked Sirius sympathetically. "He hasn't changed. He was a slimy, sneaky little git even when we were in school."

"Actually, he's not so bad," Alaw said fairly. "I mean, he turns a blind eye to a lot of what Theodore and his gang get up to, but he doesn't let them get away with really bad stuff. And he looks out for the rest of the Slytherins too, he really does. And he saved my life once."

Sirius looked shocked and Alaw elaborated.

"In first year, Quirrel tried to poison me on Voldemort's orders, but Snape was there and gave me an antidote. I think he's in a tricky position, he can't be seen to care about Halfbloods and Muggle-borns, or he'll be in trouble with the old families, or Voldemort now."

Sirius looked sceptical and took a long swig of his beer.

"Well, maybe it was Dumbledore who chose you, maybe he's trying to make it up to you."

"Ugh, that's what Hermione said and I don't believe it for a second," Alaw complained. "No, he's up to something, I just don't know what. Maybe - maybe he's hoping to keep me so busy this year that I'll have no time to fight against Voldemort."

"Leaving the Flames without a leader?" Sirius said slyly and Alaw started, staring at him in shock.

"How did you find out?!" she demanded and Sirius chuckled.

"Ron told me, don't worry, he didn't spill too much info," Sirius added hastily as Alaw turned her gaze furiously on Ron. "We expected you to get organised, though I have to admit I wasn't expecting the name. I like it."

"It was supposed to be a joke," Alaw muttered grudgingly. "Anyway, I'm not the leader."

"Of course you are," Sirius said. "And I'm proud of you."

Alaw raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"You're not angry? Not going to tell us to drop it and stay safe?"

"Bollocks to that," Sirius snorted. "Do you think the Marauders would have sat quietly and done what we were told? No, I trust you not to do anything too stupid."

"Thanks, that's flattering," said Alaw sarcastically. She glanced around to make sure no one was in hearing distance. Mrs Weasley was messing with Bill's hair and most people were focused on his attempts to escape. Alaw had a feeling that Mad-Eye was watching them through the back of his head however, so she dropped her voice to a murmur.

"So, if you think we're doing the right thing, are you going to help us?"

Sirius frowned and took another swig before answering.

"I'll give you advice, of course I will, but don't expect me to let you in on any Order secrets. I couldn't do that to Dumbledore."

Alaw scowled at her plate but nodded slowly.

"That's fair I guess. Though I'm not sure how we'll keep in touch once I'm in school. We can't exactly put this stuff in letters and I'd have to go all the way to Dufftown just to get a decent signal on my phone."

Sirius frowned in thought and then perked up, as if an idea had occurred to him, but before he could speak, Mad-Eye came over to them.

"Look what I found when I was looking for my spare invisibility cloak last night," he growled. He pulled an old, faded photograph from his pocket and showed it to Sirius. Alaw craned her neck to have a look too.

"Bloody hell, I'd forgotten about this," Sirius muttered.

The photo showed a group of people waving and smiling at the camera. It was a magical picture so the subjects were of course moving.

"Is that you?" Alaw laughed, pointing to a figure in the middle. "Jesus Christ you look young!"

The younger Sirius in the picture was surprisingly handsome, with shorter hair, boyishly styled. He was standing between a group of young men Alaw recognised, because she had seen another picture of them when they were still at school. Professor Lupin, Peter Petigrew, and James Potter.

"That's Lilly Potter, James's wife, this wasn't long after their wedding."

Alaw felt an odd twinge in her stomach as she looked at the Potter's. They looked so happy, arms around each other and beaming at the camera. They looked barely older than Alaw was now, and knowing their fate made Alaw feel very strange. A few years after this photo had been taken, they had had a little boy, Harry.

Dumbledore had told Alaw that Voldemort, for reasons best known to himself, sometimes chose specific magical children to hunt down and kill. Harry Potter had been the sixth, and Alaw the seventh.

"When was this taken?" Alaw asked and Mad-Eye flipped the photo over to look at the back.

"1979. And Dumbledore still looks the same as ever."

He turned the picture over again so they could look at it.

"There's me," Mad-Eye grunted, pointing to himself. "And Marlene McKinnon, sharp girl, smart, had a come-back for everything. Poor woman was killed in '94 by the Death Eaters. She'd just had a little girl of her own, but she didn't make it either."

Alaw felt another swoop of sadness. Just a year before she was born and Voldemort went into hiding.

"Dedalus Diggle, Hagrid, obviously hasn't changed a bit, Edgar Bones," Moody continued pointing people out as he named them.

Alaw glanced at Sirius who had a strangely pained expression on his face as he looked at the picture. She was extremely relieved when Mrs Weasley came over to them and interrupted.

"Alestor, we've been meaning to ask you for ages, there's something in the desk in the drawing room. We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty. Could you take a look?"

"No problem," said Moody, his magical eye swivelling up to look through the top of his head. "Drawing Room? Oh yes there it is, yeah it's a Boggart. Want me to go up and take care of it?"

"No no, that's alright. I'll deal with it before I go to bed."

Alaw took the opportunity to escape and sidled over to Neville who was picking at the buffet.

"Hey," he greeted as Alaw leant past him to grab a couple of cheese sandwiches. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," said Alaw. She eyed Neville shrewdly. "You're not disappointed are you?"

"Disappointed about what?" Neville asked and Alaw nodded her head towards Ron.

"You know, the whole prefect thing."

Neville shook his head and picked up a fresh bottle of beer.

"Merlin's beard no, sounds like way too much pressure on top of our school work. No, Ron'll do a much better job of it than me. And Hermione was an obvious choice."

Alaw smiled slyly and glanced across the kitchen at Hermione, who was laughing with Ginny and Tonks about something.

"Shame though, if you'd been picked for prefect, you and her could have spent a lot more time together this year," Alaw observed casually and Neville choked on his beer. Alaw thumped him on the back as he fought to catch his breath.

"What's that - I don't - what?" Neville spluttered. Alaw sniggered.

"Oh come on, you obviously like her."

"I do not!" said Neville crossly. "I mean, I do, as a friend, but not like that!"

"Sure, sure, whatever," said Alaw, grinning evilly and turning away to go over to Hermione, leaving Neville looking confused with beer down the front of his robes.

About an hour later, after another vodka and coke and listening to Ron's relief at not having to rely on the family's elderly owl, Errol, to carry messages for him anymore, Alaw decided to go to bed. Tomorrow was their last day before they went back to Hogwarts and she wanted to visit the Mended Cauldron one more time. She had several private message threads running with Muggle-borns all over the country wanting to know more about Voldemort's return and she needed to reply to them before they went back to school.

After tiptoeing past the portrait of Sirius' mother, Alaw mounted the creaky staircase, yawning hugely. She was exhausted and she was starting to get a headache for some reason. But as she passed the first floor landing, Alaw paused, hearing someone sobbing inside. She peered through the crack in the door and saw Mrs Weasley slumped against the far wall, shaking uncontrollably with her wand clutched in her hand.

"Mrs Weasley, what's the matter?" Alaw asked in shock as she pushed open the door.

Then she froze as she saw what was lying on the floor between them. Ron, dead. Ice flooded the pit of Alaw's stomach and panic clutched at her throat. No, that was impossible! Ron was downstairs, she'd literally just seen him! Then she caught sight of the open desk in the corner and she understood what was going on.

"Oh no, no, Mrs Weasley, it's not real! It's just a stupid Boggart!" Alaw cried, hurrying around the fake corpse and falling to her knees beside Mrs Weasley.

"Re - ridiculus," Mrs Weasley wailed, pointing her wand shakily at the corpse. There was a great crack, and the Boggart turned into Mr Weasley's body, his glasses askew.

"No!" Mrs Weasley cried, hiding her face, great fat tears running down her cheeks. "No! Ridiculus!"

There was another crack, but Alaw wasn't interested in who the Boggart was impersonating. She threw her arms around Mrs Weasley and blocked the Boggart from view.

"It's alright, it's not real, they're all fine downstairs," she said soothingly as Mrs Wealsey shuddered and cried into her shoulder. "Shh, it's not real. Come on, let someone else get the little bastard."

Then another, clear voice behind them said,

"Ridiculus."

Alaw glanced over her shoulder to see that Lupin, Sirius and Mad-Eye had entered the room. It was Lupin who had his wand out and the Boggart cracked again, this time turning into a floating, silvery sphere, a miniature moon. Then it exploded into a thousand tiny wisps, floating away in an instant.

"Alright Molly, it's gone, it's alright," said Lupin calmly as Mrs Wealsey totally broke down in Alaw's arms.

Lupin and Sirius came over and helped to hoist her to her feet. Alaw didn't let go and kept her arm wrapped firmly around the older woman's shoulder.

"It can't hurt you, or anyone," she said, rubbing Mrs Weasley's arm with her free hand. "It's gone."

"Oh Alaw," Mrs Weasley sobbed. "I - I wish you hadn't seen that, I'm being so silly!"

But the tears kept coming and she had to stop taking suddenly as grief gripped her again.

"I'm just so worried!" she gasped, clutching Alaw to her tightly like she was her own daughter. "All the time! I see them dead in my dreams! Arthur, the children! Half the family's in the Order, what if Arthur and I are killed and we never made it up with Percy? And who will look after Ron and Ginny and the twins?!"

"Come on now Molly, that's enough," said Sirius firmly. "We're much better off now than we were last time. We're prepared, and we know what Voldemort's plans are."

Alaw felt Mrs Weasley give a horrible jolt at the sound of the name. Lupin put a hand on her shoulder and drew her away from Alaw.

"Look, I can't promise that no one is going to get hurt, no one can promise that. But we'll look after each other. Percy will come around, it'll only be a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open. And as for the others, do you really think we wouldn't look after them?"

Terrible guilt was gnawing at Alaw's stomach. She had been so angry recently at being treated like a child, but Mrs Weasley's tears were being home to her the realisation that no matter how grown up she felt, Ron, Ginny and the twins were still Mrs Weasley's babies. Just because they were older didn't mean their parents stopped worrying about them. And Percy! She had meant to contact him weeks ago, but it had completely slipped her mind.

"I won't let anything happen to Ron," Alaw blurted out. "Me and Hermione, we'll watch out for him! We've all got each other's backs."

"Oh Alaw," Mrs Weasley sniffed. "You're a good, kind girl. Sensible, I'm so glad Ron found a friend like you!"

But that only made Alaw feel worse. Several minutes later, as she was getting into bed, she wondered if the Weasleys would have even been involved with the Order if Ron hadn't befriended her back in first year. If anything happened to them, would it all be because Ron got trapped in a room with Alaw and a Boggart?

A sudden, horrible pain lanced through her chest and Alaw sat up with a hiss, pressing her hand against her heart.

"Fuck off!" she growled through gritted teeth. Somewhere out there, Voldemort was up to something foul.

"Speaking to yourself Jones?" asked the empty portrait on the wall.

"You fuck off too!" Alaw snapped at snide voice which only humphed in reply.

* * *

 _Alaw was walking down a long, dark corridor again. When she came to door at the end, she tried to open it, but it was locked, and no amount of hammering worked._

 _"Let me in!" Alaw cried angrily._

* * *

"Come on Percy, don't be a prick! Open the fucking door!" Alaw called, banging on the wood with her fist.

She was in a very bad mood today. She hadn't slept very well, her dreams had been full of that infuriating door that wouldn't open and now she was faced with another one during her waking hours.

"Go away!" came Percy's muffled voice from inside the flat. "Or I'll call the Law Enforcement Squad!"

Alaw had managed to coax Percy's new address near Diagon Alley from Ron, but after making her way there, Percy had slammed the door in her face.

"Oh come on!" Alaw moaned. "This is so stupid! We're mates Percy! You always looked out for me when you were at school! Are you really going to start treating me like shit because the bloody Ministry has a wand up its backside?"

There was no reply this time and Alaw seethed.

"Ok fine!" she snarled. "Be like that! Just know that the only reason I'm here is because your mum was in fucking tears last night and I had to comfort her! And if you don't let me in and talk to me like a grown-up, I'll just shout for all your neighbours to hear that the crazy old mudblood Alaw Jones is here to see you!"

That did it. Percy yanked the door open and glared at her.

"This is so typical of you!" he hissed. "Fine! Come in, you have ten minutes to say your piece, then I really am calling the Squad."

"Like hell you will," Alaw snorted as she stalked past him into the flat. "You don't want anyone at the Ministry to find out you've been talking to the enemy."

The flat was small and very much like Percy, painfully neat and minimalist. She noticed that his old head boy badge was displayed proudly in a velvet lined box on the mantel piece, but there wasn't a single photo of his family in sight.

"What do you want Jones?" Percy asked, folding his arms and standing stiffly by the door.

"Ron's been made the Gryffindor prefect," said Alaw and Percy's eyebrows shot up. "And Hermione too. I'm the Slytherin prefect."

"You?" Percy asked sceptically.

"Yep, don't worry, Snape hasn't lost his mind. It was Dumbledore. Seeing as I'm his little puppet according to the Ministry."

Percy scowled and squared his shoulders.

"Dumbledore is trying his best to undermine the Ministry. He's a danger to this country."

"Oh yeah he's twat," Alaw agreed and Percy winced. "But I'm not here to talk about Dumbledore."

"What are you here to talk about then?"

"You, and your family. Didn't you hear me say that your mum was crying her eyes out last night? She's terrified that something is going to happen to her and your dad before they have a chance to patch things up with you."

Percy's scowl cleared and he looked worried for the first time.

"Why? What could possibly happen to them? Are they ill?"

Alaw squinted at Percy as if he was being dim.

"No idiot, Voldemort's back. She's scared they'll be killed by him or his followers."

Percy gave a great sigh and rolled his eyes.

"Oh for goodness sake," he snapped. "You're still spouting that nonsense?! Look, Alaw, I know you went through a lot when Black kidnapped you, but this has to stop! You're going to get into serious trouble with the Ministry of you keep spreading these lies! You-Know-Who is not back! He's dead, trust me, I know!"

"No Percy, you don't know. All you know is what the Ministry has told you. For once just think for yourself, you're too clever to parrot what Fudge wants you to! Look, I know Crouch told you last year how Voldemort lost his powers, when he tried to kill me as a baby."

Percy certainly hadn't expected her to know that and he opened his mouth then closed it a couple of times as he tried to think of an answer. Alaw carried on before he could interrupt.

"I know Crouch told you how they found Voldemort's body in front of my cot, how the Killing curse has bounced off me and hit him. But his spirit survived! It got away, and last term he got one of his followers to build him a new body and now he's back and has all his powers. I know this because I saw it happen. I swear Percy, I'm not crazy and I'm not lying. Why would I lie about this?!"

She knew before she'd even finished that it was pointless. Percy was just shaking his head in a pitying sort of way.

"Look, Alaw, this is all fantasy," said Percy in a maddeningly soothing voice. "You were tortured by Sirius Black at the end of term, he put these crazy ideas in your head. You-Know-Who is dead, and Dumbledore is just using your story to depose Fudge. He wants to be Minister himself, and he'll use fear to get there!"

Alaw had to fight very hard not to lose her temper. Getting angry and punching Percy would achieve the opposite of what she had hoped in coming here. Instead she threw up her hands.

"Ok, you know what? Fine. Don't believe me. Believe the Ministry. Just, please go and see your mum? Let her know you're ok."

"I'm sorry," said Percy coldly. "But I won't see my parents until they stop helping Dumbledore in his schemes."

"They're helping him fight Voldemort," Alaw snapped. "Just - at least write to them! Please! You wouldn't be like this if you'd seen how frightened your mum was."

"I think your ten minutes are up," Percy said, as if she hadn't spoken and Alaw buried her face in her hands.

"Fine," she sighed. Her anger was slipping away, now she just felt hopeless. "I guess I'll be getting a lot of this this year. Good, just being called a mudblood was getting old, 'crazy bitch' will liven things up considerably."

"Out!"

"I'm going, I'm going. Oh, but before I go, I meant to tell you to take care of yourself. And watch your back around Lucius Malfoy, he's like Voldemort's right hand man."

Percy just stared at her as if she had lost of mind and Alaw marched out of his flat, feeling that she'd had a wasted journey.

* * *

It was the first of September and Grimmauld Place was in a state of extreme chaos. The portrait of Sirius' mother was screaming bloody murder but no one was bothering to cover her up because all the commotion in the hallway would wake her up again anyway. People kept tripping over the many trunks cluttering the hall and Mrs Weasley was bellowing at Fred and George, who had tried to levitate their luggage downstairs and knocked Ginny down all the way to the ground floor.

Alaw was sitting on her trunk in the corner so that she was out of the way and Hermione was beside her, trying to persuade Crookshanks to get in his basket and not scratch her in the process. Ron's new owl Pig was hooting shrilly in his cage. Ron hadn't wanted to name him that, but Ginny had called the animal by this name from the start and now it wouldn't answer to anything else.

"Where the hell is Sturgis?" Mad-Eye asked angrily, stumping up and down in front of the front door and checking his pocket watch. "He was meant to be here twenty minutes ago!"

"Why do we have to wait for this person?" Alaw asked as Sirius appeared from the kitchen.

"Sturgis Podmore," Sirius explained. "He's supposed to be part of the guard but he's getting unreliable lately."

"Guard? What guard?" asked Neville.

"The guard to take you lot to the station. To make sure Voldemort doesn't try anything."

"Oich," Alaw sighed irritably. "I forgot I was being tailed these days."

She'd been most put out to find Tonks waiting for her when she came out of Percy's flat yesterday, and the young Auror hadn't left her side for the rest of the afternoon, following her to the Mended Cauldron and then back to Grimmauld Place.

Sirius smiled and then he glanced at Mrs Weasley and Mad-Eye to make sure they weren't paying attention. Once he was satisfied that they were distracted he took something out of his robes.

"Here," he muttered, handing Alaw the brown paper package. "Don't open it here, Molly won't approve, but it'll help us keep in touch without having to rely on owls."

Alaw nodded and stuffed the package out of sight into her satchel just as Mrs Weasley gesture to her.

"Alright, Ron, Neville, Hermione and Alaw, you come with me now and leave your trunks and pets, Alestor's taking care of the luggage. Oh for goodness sake Sirius! Dumbledore said no!"

As the young ones moved forward, Sirius shrank down onto all fours and transformed into the big black dog. Alaw chuckled as the mutt barked and waged its tail enthusiastically. Mrs Weasley frowned.

"Fine, on your own head be it!"

After the many chains and bolts on the front door had been slid back, Mrs Weasley led them all out into the warm September sun. Sirius gave a joyful bark and bounded up and down the pavement, chasing his own tail and snapping at a couple of mangy pigeons. Mrs Weasley pursed her lips in such a disapproving way, Professor McGonagall would have been proud.

"Very dignified," Alaw snorted, as Sirius came up to them with a stick in his mouth. Ron threw it and the dog went taring after it.

"Come on, we're going to be late!" Mrs Weasley snapped.

At the end of the street, there was an old woman waiting for them and she spoke with Tonks' voice.

"Wotcher," she said quietly when they reached her. "Better get going hadn't we Molly?"

"I know, I know!" Mrs Weasley moaned. "But Alestor wanted to wait for Sturgis! How can muggles stand to travel without magic?"

Hermione and Alaw exchanged exasperated glanced. This kind of casual derision was harder to tackle than full on prejudice, because calling it out would seem petty. The walk to King's Cross was uneventful, other than the entertainment for Sirius and his stick. Voldemort didn't jump out from behind a skip to try and murder any of them and they made it to the barrier between platforms nine and ten without incident.

Despite the fact that the closest stop to Cefn-Y-Bedd was Crew, Alaw had only used it once. Circumstances had always placed her in London at the start of the school year so she was quite used to surreptitiously leaning against the barrier and skidding through to platform nine and three-quarters.

The Hogwarts Express was waiting for them, blowing steam over the crowd of students and parents. Most people were already in their school robes as most magical parents wouldn't let their children go out in public wearing trousers, Statue of Secrecy or not.

As always, Alaw and Hermione attracted a lot of stares in their jeans. Alaw pulled her hoody up to cover her hair, she didn't want a stink bomb to the back of the head before term even started.

"Oh thank goodness, here's Alestor with the luggage," sighed Mrs Weasley as Mad-Eye materialised under the wrought iron arch that spanned the platform, Fred, George and Ginny hot on his heels.

"Don't think we were followed," Mad-Eye grunted. "But best get this lot on the train quick."

They found an empty compartment and loaded their trunks into the racks above the seats. Then Mrs Weasley gave her children, Alaw, Neville and Hermione a tight hug each.

"Look after yourselves," she said tearfully. "Be safe! Please be careful."

"We will be," said Hermione reassuringly.

Alaw felt that twinge of guilt again, and hoped against hope that Percy came to his senses soon. It suddenly struck her how lonely Mrs Weasley was, now that all her children were away from home most of the year, and Mr Weasley was at work all day.

As the conductor whistled and Mrs Weasley chivvied them onto the train, Alaw knelt down and hugged Sirius quickly.

"I'll be in touch," she whispered, scratching him behind the ears for the benefit of the crowd. "See you!"

Then she hopped into the compartment, just as the train began to move off.

"Right," said Hermione, once the platform had disappeared behind them and they were creeping through London. "We need to go to the prefect carriage now."

"Oh god, I'd forgotten about that," Alaw groaned. "Ok, fine. So, Neville, I need you to track down the people we thought might be interested in joining the Flames."

"Got it," said Neville excitedly.

As he headed off down one end of the train, Alaw turned and despondently followed Ron and Hermione to the other end, wondering which of her male classmates she was going to be saddled with for the rest of the year.

* * *

Draco had never been in the prefects' carriage before. It was far more luxurious than the others he'd seen, with comfortable armchairs grouped around dark-wood tables instead of threadbare benches. There was a bar over in the corner and Draco had been handed a complimentary pumpkin juice when he came in.

The Head Boy, Cedric Diggory, and head girl, Cho Chang, were already there when he arrived and had greeted him before returning to their own conversation. Draco had therefore sat in an armchair by the window and take stock of the other prefects. The fourth years were all huddled together gossiping but the new third year choices were still divided down house lines.

Hannah Abbot and Ernie McMillan from Hufflepuff were chatting amiably at the bar. Draco grudgingly admitted that they were both decent choices. Dim though Hufflepuffs usually were, they were both fairly bright and would no doubt do a good job.

From Ravenclaw there was Anthony Goldstein, a pretentious prat in Draco's opinion, and Padma Patil, who was clever, but dull. The Gryffindor contingent wasn't there yet, nor was the female Slytherin prefect. Granger would of course have bagged the badge, but Draco had no idea which of the male Gryffindors she'd have to endure. None of them had enough brains to wipe their own arses without a map.

As for his partner for the next two years, Draco had a feeling it would be Daphne. Pansy had been writing to him obsessively over the summer and she hadn't mentioned receiving a badge, so Uncle Sev must have decided to choose someone who actually deserved the thing. Daphne was from an old, respectable family, she had decent academic scores, and she had performed well on the school Quidditch team last year.

Draco didn't mind Daphne too much, even if she did spend an awful lot of time with the Gryffindors and that Muggle lover Cameron Boyle. Perhaps Marcus would finally get over his no girls policy and let Daphne on the Slytherin Quidditch team this term.

The door to the carriage opened and Draco turned his head expectantly. There was Granger, of course, her red prefect badge pinned proudly on her Muggle jacket. Behind her came Weasley, and Draco's eyes widened in surprise. _Weasley_? Really? The pickings were certainly slim in Gryffindor house, but even Longbottom would have been a better choice than Weasel King.

But then Draco felt a stab in his stomach as Alaw walked in and closed the door behind her. No, surely not. Uncle Sev would never be so stupid as to pick a Muggle-born! When Alaw caught sight of Draco she froze, an oddly pained expression crossing her face. They stared at each other for a few moments, neither sure what to say.

Draco was cursing his bad luck. Before putting him on the train, his father had given him one last lecture about growing a backbone this year. The Dark Lord was counting on him, Theodore, Vincent and Gregory to recruit more Purebloods to the cause, and to make sure the mudbloods knew they were no longer welcome in the wizarding world. Theodore had been crowing all summer about how he was finally going to pay Alaw back for all her insolence, and Draco had been miserable the entire time.

Alaw had been his friend for a year or so, he liked her, they had plenty in common and she made him laugh. But they had both agreed at the end of last term that, with everything changing so fast, it would no longer be safe for them to be friendly. Draco had vowed to himself that he would never speak to Alaw again, never look her in the eye, and stay as far away from Theodore's plans for revenge as possible. He'd been terrified that the Dark Lord would peer into his mind and see his weakness for Alaw. Thankfully, Draco was a decent Occlumens and that hadn't happened. But here he now was, unable to escape.

"Alright, gather round people," called Cedric. "We're going to give you your instructions."

Alaw hesitated before walking over to the chair next to Draco's. She sat down and leant casually away from him towards Granger, who was on her other side.

"Alright folks, I'll be quick, don't want to keep you cooped up in here all day," said Cedric. "You're prefects now, and that means you'll be taking on a few extra responsibilities. You should be the first port of call for any student in your house who is struggling, be it with school work or personal matters.

The teachers expect you to keep an eye on your fellow students, and inform them if you think someone isn't coping. You're to help the first years find their way around the first few weeks, and to hand out punishments to anyone acting up."

Draco glanced around the circle of prefects. The appearance of Alaw had dampened any pleasure he would normally have felt at having a little bit of authority. Cho took over the explanation.

"You all probably know that you can only hand out communal detentions to people from your own house, since they are your responsibility. If you have trouble with a member of another house, ask the prefect from that house to help, or Cedric or me. You can't dock house points either. If a situation gets really out of hand, get hold of a teacher."

Draco had to restrain himself from snorting. Communal detention was a joke, just sit in a room for an hour on Saturday morning with the half a dozen other delinquents and whichever grumpy teacher had drawn the short straw that week. It was a handy time to catch up on homework.

Cedric and Cho outlined the rest of their duties, which boiled down to helping the teachers with whatever they required. They were then served an early lunch, vegetable soup followed by cold pheasant and delicate little cakes for pudding.

"I've never had pheasant before," said Granger once they were all done eating. "It's quite nice."

"Can't your family afford the meat, Granger?" Draco asked scathingly. Granger and Weasley shot him annoyed looks.

"Shut up Malfoy," Weasley snarled and Alaw immediately put a hand on his forearm, her eyes wide in a 'don't start a fight' kind of way.

She glanced at Draco but didn't say anything to him, nor he to her. It was going to be pretty difficult to perform their prefect duties without speaking to each other for two years, but Draco was determined to try.

His father had been very specific about that.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

 **An Unwelcome Feast**

The Prefects were released around one o'clock to patrol the train and keep an eye on the new students in particular. Alaw hung back to let Draco pull ahead of her. He hadn't looked at her the entire time they'd been sitting in the Prefect carriage, which she supposed was probably for the best, but was still depressing. They had been good friends just a few months ago, exchanged their favourite books and shared a few laughs. Now, that was all behind them.

"Of course it had to be him," Ron spat, glaring at Draco's retreating back. "So You-Know-Who's already got one Death Eater in training as a Prefect!"

Alaw sighed miserably. She would have loved to defend her friend and say he would never join Voldemort, but it sounded pathetic, even to her. Voldemort had set up his base of operations in Draco's house for god's sake, his father was a Death Eater, his whole family would expect it of him, of course he had joined up. But Alaw refused to believe he was a willing participant.

"Ok, you two go and track down Neville and the others, I've got to go and be a Slytherin for a while."

"Oh Alaw, don't go putting yourself in danger before we even get to Hogwarts," Hermione warned.

"Don't worry," Alaw said, patting her backpack. "They won't even see me."

So once Ron and Hermione had gone on their way, Alaw pulled out the invisibility cloak and threw it around her shoulders. The worst thing about being invisible usually was navigating crowded places, because it was almost impossible not to bump into anyone. This being the wizarding world, most people didn't question the fact that they'd just walked into a solid patch of air that went 'ouch!', but it was still uncomfortable.

But thankfully, apart from the odd stray, the corridors were empty. Alaw peered into the compartments she passed, keeping her eyes peeled for the Slytherins. She found a few in the middle of the train. Flora, Hestia and Pansy were all sitting together eating lunch. Alaw gazed sadly at Flora. She usually steered clear of Pansy and hung out with her boyfriend, Cameron instead, but it looked like things had changed over the summer.

In the next compartment, Daphne, Tracy and Cameron was talking with worried expressions on their faces. Alaw gaped at Cameron, whom she hadn't initially recognised. He was wearing proper wizards robes for a change, his hair had been cut and combed and he wasn't wearing his usual earring and eyeliner. Things really had changed.

After passing a group of gossiping Ravenclaws and Millicent Bulstrode, who for some reason, was sitting alone and crying into a handkerchief, Alaw spotted her quarry. Draco was sliding open the door of the last compartment in the carriage and he disappeared inside. The door was closed by the time Alaw got there but she saw Draco flop down in a spare seat by the door. With him were, Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle.

Alaw rooted around in her pocket and extracted a wriggling Extendable Ear that she'd borrowed from the twins. After settling herself cross-legged on the floor she inserted one end of the string into her ear. The other end came to life and slithered under the door and Alaw could hear the conversation within as though she was sitting in the middle of it.

"So, how was it?" Theodore was asking. "Who're the new heads?"

"Cedric Diggory, and Cho Chang," said Draco. Alaw heard the rustle of pages and assumed that he'd taken out a book.

"Uch, that pretty boy," Crabbe spat. "And that Chang girl is such a slut!"

Outside in the corridor, Alaw rolled her eyes. As far as she was aware, Cho and Cedric had been a perfectly happy, committed couple for the past few months.

"What has she done that's so special?" Theodore asked bitterly.

"Well, she was on the school team last year. That's probably why Weasle King was chosen as Gryffindor Prefect," said Draco boredly. There were sounds of consternation from the other occupants of the compartment.

"Weasley?! You can't be serious," Theodore scoffed. "My god, things have really gone down hill this year. Oh and let me guess, mudblood Granger is his partner right?"

"Right," said Draco.

"Pansy hates her, how did she react to that?" Goyle asked. There was a pause before Draco answered.

"I wouldn't know, Pansy isn't the Slytherin prefect this year."

"Oh no it's not that blood traitor Greengrass is it?" asked Theodore.

"No. It's Jones."

There was stunned silence before,

"Jones?" Theodore asked in disgust. " _Jones_? No, that can't be right. Professor Snape would never!"

"I doubt it was his idea, it was probably Dumbledore sticking his nose in, as usual," Draco corrected.

Alaw raised her eyebrows at this quick deduction. It seemed it was obvious to everyone why she's really been chosen.

"Well that's just perfect," Theodore spat. "Two mudbloods chosen as Prefects. The master's plan had better start soon or I might go crazy!"

"Careful," Draco hissed. "We aren't at my house anymore, we have to be discreet about - that."

"Oh please, there's no one here but us. And anyway, it's only a matter of time before the Dark Lord moves into the open and when he does, those mudbloods will wish they were never born."

"I want Granger," Goyle sniggered. "I bet she'll squeal like a pig!"

"You can have Granger, and that poof Thomas. But Jones is mine, I've been waiting to pay her back ever since first year."

 _Just try it_ , Alaw thought, _I will grid you into the dirt_.

"We're not supposed to do anything yet," said Draco sharply. "We can't draw attention to ourselves."

"Calm down Draco, you really need to stop being such a wimp if you want the Dark Lord to take you seriously," said Goyle.

There was a pause during which Alaw heard rustling in the background, someone was opening a sweet wrapper. Then Theodore said snidely,

"If I didn't know any better Draco, I'd say you were sweet on Jones. I mean you did spend a lot of time together last year."

"Don't be disgusting, I just ate lunch," Draco snapped coldly. "I had to spend time with her because of that stupid project. Believe me, it was tedious as hell."

"Well if you want to fuck her, I'm sure the Dark Lord won't mind. Just make sure you have a good long shower afterwards, I know I will when I'm finished with her," Theodore sniggered.

Alaw shuddered and clutched her wand tightly.

"I would never touch a mudblood, you're being vile," Draco complained. "Who knows what they're carrying."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were squeamish about Muggle girls. But you know that one the summer before Hogwarts wasn't so bad, kicked like a Hippogriff though."

Alaw had heard enough. Feeling sick, she rolled up the Extendable Ear and stuffed it into her pocket angrily. Draco had hinted at an incident involving Theodore and a muggle girl before they'd all started Hogwarts, but to hear them actually boast about it… Alaw shuddered, she would have to come up with a suitably nasty comeuppance for Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle. As for Draco, well, she supposed he had to say all sorts of things he didn't mean these days. At least, she hoped he didn't mean them.

She found Ron, Hermione and Neville at the other end of the train. The boys were playing exploding snap and Neville cursed as Alaw opened the door and a card singed his fingers.

"Find anything useful?" Hermione asked from behind her book. Alaw folded the cloak back into her backpack.

"Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle have definitely been recruited by Voldemort," she reported. "I don't know if they're full Death Eaters yet, but it sounded like they're well on their way."

They all nodded gravely. It wasn't groundbreaking news, it only confirmed what they'd suspected for weeks. Ron placed another card on the deck.

"And Malfoy? What about him?"

"Him too," said Alaw stonily. "But he didn't sound very enthusiastic about it."

"He never sounds enthusiastic about anything, miserable git."

Alaw humphed and sat down by the door.

"Clearly you've never argued with him over who should sit on the Iron Throne. Anyway, it sounded like Voldemort's told the newbies to lie low for a while and not cause any mayhem. But they'll probably start harassing Muggle-borns on the sneak, so we need to warn as many people as possible."

"I tracked down Earnie, Hannah and Susan like you asked," Neville put in. "They sounded interested in what you had to say. And Dean dropped by looking for you."

Alaw nodded thoughtfully and took a file out of her bag, the one labeled, ' _Death Eaters'_. She turned the page dedicated to Theodore and started noting down the particulars of the conversation. It wasn't much, but it was a start, and Alaw was determined to out him and his friends before the term was over.

As Alaw was replacing the file in her backpack, her fingers brushed something wrapped in paper, and she took the object out, frowning. It was the package Sirius had given her, which she had forgotten about until now. Curious, Alaw undid the strings and removed the paper, revealing a small, hand-held mirror.

"O-key," she said slowly, frowning at her own reflection. Hermione looked up from her book.

"What's that?"

"I dunno, Sirius gave it to me. Oh hang on, there's a note on the back." Alaw removed the note and read it aloud. " _This is a two-way mirror, I've got the other one of the pair. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it: you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to speak to you. My friends and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions_."

"What, they couldn't go a couple of hours without speaking to each other?" Ron asked scathingly and Alaw snorted, looking at the mirror with renewed interest. Now that she looked closely, she saw that there were tiny glowing runes carved around the edge. Hermione came to sit beside her and took the mirror so she could examine it.

"That is extraordinary magic," she said appreciatively. "And so useful! We won't have to worry about writing our letters in code anymore."

Alaw was relieved they now had a direct link to someone they could trust in the Order. She still thought she could persuade Sirius to tell them more about this mysterious Prophesy they were guarding, and why Voldemort was so obsessed with getting his hands on it. She wrapped the mirror back up carefully and replaced it in her bag. Yes, a very useful took inded, if this year was going to be a difficult as she thought it would.

* * *

The sky was dark and there was a cool breeze blowing by the time they reached Hogwarts. Not in the mood to be stared at or have unpleasant things shouted at her by Theodore and his friends, Alaw donned the invisibility cloak again so she could walk freely along the platform. She kept the cloak on the entire carriage ride to the castle and as they crossed the Entrance Hall.

When Alaw entered the Great Hall, her eyes immediately swept the length of the Slytherin table, to see the new battle-lines being drawn. Draco of course sat with Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle, and Blaise was with them this time.

Flora had joined her sister and Pansy whilst Daphne and Tracy sat well away from them. Alaw felt for them, there was no escape within Slytherin house for those who'd rather not declare themselves for Voldemort. As usual, she bypassed her own table and crossed the hall to sit with the Gryffindors.

Lavender, Parvati, Seamus and Dean were already seated and were speaking in low voices until Hermione and the boys sat down. Alaw seated herself next to Hermione and hoped no one would try and take the apparently empty spot.

"Hey," said Lavender in a strangely airy voice. "Where's Alaw?"

"She's sitting with her Slytherin friends, just for tonight," said Hermione as Alaw had instructed her too. For some reason Lavender and Parvati exchanged a glance.

"Did you guys have a good summer?" Neville asked, either not noticing or choosing to ignore the odd atmosphere.

"Yeah it was ok, I mostly helped my mum in the shop though," said Dean, shrugging.

"We went to France," said Hermione, indicating herself and the boys. "It was great! We went to the Chat Noire in Paris, and we saw the catacombs."

Lavender, Parvati and Seamus all exchanged looks. Then Lavender asked, casually,

"Anything else happen down there?"

Alaw squinted at her. Then she remembered that Lavender's father worked at the Ministry, and must have heard all about her trial. She hoped the others wouldn't mention the Dementors because that would sound like attention seeking.

"We did run into some trouble when we went south," Hermione said carefully.

"Oh yeah, what kind of trouble?" asked Parvati, and there was a definite note of sneering disbelief in her voice.

Thankfully, the doors of the Great Hall opened at that moment and Hermione was spared having to answer. Professor McGonagall lead a group of first years into the hall and down the gap between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table. The new comers all looked excited and terrified as they approached the top table where the teachers sat. There, the Sorting Hat waited for them on a three legged stool. When they had all lined up before it, the rip near the brim opened and the hat shouted,

"Time for a new batch then?"

It was after a few names had been called that Hermione nudged Alaw in the side and leant in to whisper,

"Where's Hagrid?"

Alaw, who had been concentrating on the sorting, looked to the far end of the top table where Hagrid usually sat. But Hermione was right, he wasn't there. Alaw felt an unpleasant chill.

"He was supposed to be watching Emrys over the summer," she muttered anxiously. "Do you think he's ill?"

Hagrid was never ill, never, as long as she'd known him. And he had promised her to look after Emrys whilst Alaw was away. Hermione looked around to make sure no one was listening before leaning in again and saying quietly,

"Maybe he's not back from his mission, the thing Dumbledore wanted him to do over the summer?"

That sounded right, but Alaw was still anxious. Of course, Emrys was perfectly capable of hunting for himself and he had a decent territory in the Forbidden Forest, but she still worried for him. Her eyes turned to the top table again and she glared at Dumbledore for good measure. But in doing so, she noticed the person sitting on his left, where McGonagall usually sat.

She was a small witch with curly brown hair in which she had placed a pink Alice band. Alaw frowned and searched her memory. She had definitely seen her before, but it took a moment to remember where.

"That woman, she works for Fudge!" she muttered to Hermione and the boys who all looked up in surprise.

"Fudge? What is she doing here?" Neville asked anxiously.

"I don't know, but she was at my trial."

Hermione's eyes were sweeping the head table and after a moment she made a small sound of consternation.

"Oh no, no it can't be! Where's Professor Lupin?!"

They all turned as one but Hermione was right, Lupin was no where to be seen.

"It's not a full moon tonight is it?" Ron asked in an undertone so that nobody else around them would hear. Neville shook his head.

"No, that's next week. Do you think he's doing something for the Order too?"

Two members of staff missing was very suspicious and Alaw turned back to glare at Dumbledore, who was watching the Sorting. This whole affair felt wrong to Alaw and she felt an unpleasant knot of worry settle in her stomach.

At long last, the Sorting came to an end and Professor Flitwick carried the three-legged stool and the hat out of the Hall. Dumbledore rose to greet the students, his hands wide and his eyes twinkling.

"To our newcomers," he said in a ringing voice. "Welcome! To our old hands, welcome back. I'd like to say a few words before we have our excellent feast. First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds, as should a few of our older students."

Being invisible, Dumbledore obviously couldn't see where Alaw was sitting, but she fancied his gaze settled on the group at the far end of the Gryffindor table none the less.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes. For a full list of the school rules, please feel free to consult the list tacked to Mr Flich's office door. We are very pleased to welcome Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons. We are also delighted to welcome Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was an outbreak of muttering at this last announcement. Professor Lupin was well liked among the students and many of them were looking disappointed or even mutinous. Dumbledore continued,

"Try-outs for the house Quidditch teams will take place during Initiation Week and details will be posted…"

He broke off, looking enquiringly at Professor Umbridge. She had just stood up and cleared her throat in a fussy, unnecessary kind of way. She was obviously about to make a speech of her own. Dumbledore only looked surprise for a moment, then he sat down and looked intently at Umbridge as if he wished for nothing more than to hear her speak. Hermione make a 'tchugh!' noise beside Alaw and it looked like Professor McGonagall had made a similar sound. She and Professor Sprout exchanged dark looks and when Alaw glanced at Snape, she saw him and Professor Flitwick, who had regained his seat, also share a minuscule glance of disdain.

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore, for those kind words of welcome," said Professor Umbridge in a simpering voice that, like before, made Alaw cringe. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts I must say. And to meet such eager young people, I'm sure we'll be very good friends."

Many of the students had trouble containing their snorts at this statement.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble art of teaching.

Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts had brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is how it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance then, between old and new, between permanence, and change, between tradition and innovation."

"Sounds like someone's swallowed a bullshit potion," Alaw muttered in Hermione ear and she nodded gravely, her eyes fixed on Umbridge.

Most people had stopped listening apart from a few of the more savvy students and the teachers. A quick glance across the hall at the Slytherins showed that a fair few of them were muttering to each other as well. Umbridge was still ploughing on despite the whispers that now filled the room.

"Because some changes will be for the better, whilst others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement."

 _Yeah, like the decision to let you start talking_ , Alaw thought.

"Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

She sat down, and Alaw rolled her eyes at Neville who sat opposite her, until she remembered that he couldn't see her. The food was finally served and everyone tucked in.

"What a load of bollocks!" Ron said, dipping a spoon into a dish of shepherds pie.

"It was meant to sound like nonsense," said Hermione darkly. "It's to stop people understanding what's really going on. The Ministry has stuck her here to interfere with the school! _Pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited_ , how sinister is that?! But why has Professor Lupin left?"

"Oh you haven't heard?" said Lavender gleefully and they all looked at her. "It's awful!"

"What's happened?!" Neville asked in alarm and everyone in the vicinity looked at Lavender.

"My dad told me about it. Apparently, Professor Lupin is a werewolf!"

There were gasps from some people but Hermione just frowned.

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so'? A werewolf! Can you imagine, he could have turned on any of us in a second!" Lavender said with a shudder and Alaw saw Hermione's face cloud with anger.

"That is the most ridiculous, small-minded thing you have ever said, Lavender," she said coldly and Lavender looked taken-aback. "Professor Lupin was kind and a brilliant teacher! And for your information, we," she indicated herself and the boys, "- have known he was a werewolf for ages.

"Of course you did, because you're just so clever aren't you?" said Parvati scathingly. "But you didn't see that your friend was completely out of her mind did you?"

There was a silence following these words and Alaw put down the forkful of pie she'd been about to eat.

"Please tell me you're not talking about Alaw," said Hermione, a real bite in her voice now. Parvati gave her a contemptuous look.

"Oh come on, she's obviously loopy! She's saying You-Know-Who is back from the dead! Why would she say that if she wasn't crazy?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because it's the truth?" said Ron angrily. Seamus snorted.

"What, you actually believe all the rubbish she's come out with? How she fought You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah we do!" Neville jumped in before Ron could thump Seamus. "I'm sorry, am I missing something here, or have you all forgotten that Alaw was the one who fought the Dementor back in the first year and saved all those people? You didn't think she was loopy then did you?"

Lavender, Seamus and Parvati all shifted uncomfortably and Dean was acting as if he couldn't hear the conversation happening right next to him. Then Lavender perked up.

"Maybe all the attention she got back then went to her head, and now she's making all this new stuff up."

"Oh for goodness sake, you people are unbelievable!" Hermione cried furiously. "Small-minded and fickle! That's what you are! You know Alaw, you've known her for two years, and yet if the precious Daily Prophet says she's crazy then it must be true, is that it?"

Their raised voices was attracting some attention from the people around them, and even some students over on the Hufflepuff table were turning around in surprise to watch. Alaw had had enough. She grabbed some bread rolls and stuffed them into her bag before getting up from the table.

"I'm going to see Emrys, please don't let this get out of hand," she whispered in Hermione's ear, squeezing her arm.

Hermione nodded and Alaw swept from the Hall as fast as she could. Her heart was hammering and she strode across the Entrance Hall and out into the grounds in a sort of daze. She knew the papers had been slagging her off all summer, she knew that, and she had seen the looks of sneering disbelief on the faces of the Wizengamot. But she had never imagined for one second that the people who actually knew her would believe the lies. She thought they would trust their own experiences over any words printed in a newspaper. Apparently that had been naive.

The grounds were pitch black and Alaw had to watch her step as she walked over the lawn towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's hut. There was no light shining behind the curtain but Alaw knocked for good measure, just in case. But there was no reply, only the sound of the wind rustling the treetops nearby. Where could Hagrid be? Whilst eavesdropping on the Order, the Flames had picked up some chatter about this mission Dumbledore had sent Hagrid on at the end of last term, something to do with Giants. But Alaw had expected him to be back by now.

Shaking her head, she carried on towards the edge of the trees and then skirted them until the came to the edge of the lake. She had made this trip many times the previous year and often at night, but the darkened trees always managed to send chills down Alaw's spine. Even though she was invisible, she felt as if something was watching her as she picked her way through the forest, keeping the shoreline on her right and making sure to never loose sight of it.

Last year, she and Hagrid had marked the path to Emrys' cave with huge stones and as she passed each one, Alaw reached out to touch them for reassurance. She'd meant to turn them into the ward stones, to protect Emrys' territory, but she hadn't quite got round to it and besides, she didn't really have the skill necessary. She needed to work harder in Ancient Runes if she was to master that kind of magic.

After twenty minutes of walking Alaw came to the last stone marker and the cave came into view. It had been little more than a large overhang a few feet from the water's edge when she and Hagrid had found it last February. Using magic, they had expanded it until it was deep enough for Emrys to get some real shelter from the elements and to hide, if necessary.

" _Emrys_?" Alaw called. " _It's me! It's Alaw!_ "

All this she said in Parseltongue. It had been quite the shock to discover she could speak the mysterious language, and at first she'd only been able to do it around Emrys. But with practice, she'd taught herself to switch between it and her human tongues with ease, even managing to communicate with Voldemort in this manner. It had been quite a shock for him too.

There was no sign of movement from the cave and Alaw frowned, edging around cautiously to peer inside. She threw back the hood of her cloak and lifted her wand.

"Lumos," she murmured and light flooded the cave. It was empty. Panic clutched at Alaw's throat and she raised her head to look around.

" _Emrys!_ " she called, her roar echoing around the trees.

She heard a rustling in the bushes nearby and the next second, something large and green came crashing out of the undergrowth and nearly bowled her over. She stepped back just in time and gave a sigh of relief.

" _Emrys, why did you scare me like that?_ " she asked irritably, lowering her wand and throwing her arms around the dragon's neck.

When Hagrid had bought Emrys' smuggled egg from Mundungus Fletcher almost a year previously, they'd all been worried the little dragon wouldn't make it. Eggs removed from their mother's care rarely survived, but Emrys had been a resilient baby. But even thought he was now fully grown, he was quite a runty specimen, even for a Welsh Green. Hagrid had helped Alaw measure him at the end of last erm and they'd found him to be 26 feet from snout to tail, with a wingspan of 48 feet. He had not been a particularly strong flier the last time Alaw had seen him but his fire-breath had certainly caused enough havoc among the Death Eaters.

When Emrys had hatched, Alaw had been the first living thing he had seen and he had imprinted on her immediately. The magical bond they shared was only made stronger by the fact that Alaw could speak Parseltongue. According to Ron's brother Charlie, there hadn't been a dragon rider in centuries, but Alaw was reluctant to go anywhere near the skies after her disastrous flights last term. Still, she was very fond of the dragon and she squeezed tighter.

" _I've missed you_ ," she said. " _It's been a really hard summer. Have you been ok_?"

" _No dangers, but Hagrid has been away for two moons now_ ," Emrys complained. He curled himself into a ball at the entrance of the cave and Alaw sat down with her back against his scales.

" _Did he say when he would be back?_ " Alaw asked anxiously.

" _Before the snows came again,_ " was Emrys' vague answer. The trouble was, dragons did not count time as precisely as humans did, they preferred to deal in seasonal changes than days and weeks. Emrys dipped his head and nuzzled against Alaw's hair.

" _Why has your summer been hard?_ _Have you been injured?_ " he asked plaintively and Alaw sighed, stroking his snout.

" _Not injured exactly, but it's been tough,_ " she said, raising her head to gaze up at the sky. Through the trees she could see stars glimmering between the patches of cloud. " _And I don't think it's going to get any easier_."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

 **Prophecy and Protest**

Alaw ended up spending the whole night down in the forest. She'd done this many times the previous year but it always left her feeling stiff and cold come the morning. She awoke to the sound of loud birdsong and she blinked blearily in the bright sunlight streaming through the treetops. With a groan she pushed Emrys' wing off herself and sat up, stretching to work all the kinks out of her joints.

"I need to stop doing this," she muttered to herself. She was utterly starving, not having eaten much last night at the feast, so she got up, gathered up her invisibility cloak and leaned down to hug Emrys.

"See you later mate," she yawned and the dragon merely grunted at her sleepily, curling into a tighter ball.

The forest was a lot less menacing when it was bathed in early morning sunshine and Alaw made it back to the grounds without incident. It had always struck her as odd that there were literally no defenses around Hogwarts on the side bordered by the forest. She knew that the walls on the other side of the castle couldn't be scaled, that the gates were warded and that one simply couldn't fly across the lake. But if anyone really wanted to attack the castle, they could simply stride through the forest and emerge almost unchallenged into the grounds.

True, there were plenty of dangerous creatures in those trees, not to mention a herd of angry centaurs who would defend their territory fiercely, but that was hardly going to stop a determined foe. Voldemort, for example, would probably have no problem dealing with the forest and it's inhabitants. Just another reason Alaw never went anywhere without her invisibility cloak.

By the time Alaw reached the Entrance Hall, her stomach was growling mutinously, but a quick glance to her right showed that breakfast was yet to be served and that there wasn't anyone in the Great Hall yet. So Alaw decided to mount the marble staircase instead and make the long journey up to the seventh floor. At this early hour, the castle was almost silent. The only sounds were the faint twittering of birds beyond the mullion windows, and the gentle snoring of the portraits Alaw passed. Alaw had always been weary of the castle portraits. She liked them in principle, they gave the place an interesting flavour, but she also had a sneaking suspicion that they played spy for the teachers, particularly Dumbledore.

This feeling only increased when Alaw turned onto the Fat Lady's corridor. The Fat Lady herself was still asleep and Alaw walked past her as quietly as she could, turning right onto a another corridor where the door to her rooms was located. Except, there wasn't a door there any more.

"What the hell?" Alaw muttered, stopping halfway down the corridor.

The tapestry of the knight killing the dragon still hung on the wall, but opposite it, instead of the usual plain door, was a brand new portrait. Alaw shook off the hood of her cloak so that she came back into view and said,

"Sir Cadogan?"

The knight, who had been snoozing with his back resting against his fat gray pony, jerked awake and then leaped to his feet upon seeing her.

"My good lady! You have returned, I was concerned when you did not appear last night," he said, pushing up his visor to peer at her.

"What are you doing here? And where's my door gone?" Alaw asked, far too tired to bother being overly polite. The knight beamed.

"I have been given a sacred duty by the headmaster," he said proudly. "He is worried for you safety, so I was installed to guard your chambers and ensure no harm comes to you. Fear not my lady, I shall be ever vigilant!"

Alaw struggled not to let her anger show on her face. So, Dumbledore was going to spy on her was he? No doubt he would have Sir Cadogan tell him all her comings and goings, including the names of anyone who visited her.

"Right, thank you sir," said Alaw bitterly. It wasn't really the knight's fault, but she was annoyed that a fellow Welshman would be willing to sell her out. "So, do I need a password or something?"

"Oh yes, for this month it shall be, _Bendigeidfran_!"

Alaw smiled in spite of herself and inclined her head.

"A might warrior," she acknowledged. "I like it. Bendigeidfran!"

Cadogan swung open and Alaw climbed through the hole left behind. Her rooms were as she remembered them. The portrait opened directly onto the living space, which had a large fireplace, though it was currently cold. Around this were a sofa and two armchairs, upholstered in green velvet, and the windows on either side of the mantle overlooked the transfiguration courtyard many floors bellow. On the right was the door that led to her bedroom and the bathroom and Alaw dumped her bag on the sofa as she made her sleepy way towards this. As her hand reached for the handle however, she heard a voice behind her say,

"So, you've returned at last."

Alaw gave a yelp and whipped around, scrambling to draw her wand, but there didn't appear to be anyone else in the room.

"Over here, dolt," said the sneering voice and Alaw finally spotted it's owner. There was another new portrait hanging above her bookshelf.

It showed a wizard with a thin face and a pointed beard, wearing heavy black robes. He had been painted with the Slytherin colours behind him and Alaw gave a heavy sigh.

"You scared the hell out of me!" she complained, putting her wand away and stepping towards the portrait so she could get a better look. She thought the wizard looked familiar.

"I do apologise," said the wizard sarcastically. "But you know, it's your own fault for staying out all night. I do have better things to do other than hang around here waiting for you."

Alaw pulled a confused face.

"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you? And what are you doing in my room?"

"Still as impertinent as ever," the man sniffed. "My name is Phineas Nigellus and I was once the headmaster of this school. I have been placed here by Professor Dumbledore to keep an eye on you."

And then Alaw remembered where she had seen the man before. He had been the angry wizard occupying the painting in her room back in Grimmauld Place. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Wow, he's not even trying to be subtle anymore," she said scathingly and Phineas Nigellus shrugged.

"You have a habit of interfering in matters that don't concern you, girl. Now tell me, where have you been all night?"

Alaw took a moment to consider the portrait and then she said, in a colourless voice,

"In the village, drinking my sorrows away."

"You stayed out in Hogsmead all night by yourself, even after the taverns closed?" Phineas asked flatly and Alaw shrugged.

"I could have hooked up with someone and gone back to their place."

"You could have, but you didn't. Where have you really been?"

But Alaw was done playing games.

"That's the story I'm going with, run along and tell Dumbledore like a good boy. I'm going to take a shower."

The portrait snorted behind her as Alaw crossed the room and disappeared through the door to her bedroom. As she stood under the jet of hot water in her shower, Alaw fumed. She was more annoyed about how overt Dumbledore was being than the actual invasion of her privacy. He could have at least try to be more convert, but by placing two portrait smack bang in the middle of her living space, he was effectively telling her she wasn't worth spying on properly. Well, screw him.

After drying off and pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Alaw left the bathroom. It was still relatively early but there was a chance breakfast would be being served by now. Before exiting her bedroom, Alaw paused at the wall that divided it from the corridor outside. Cautiously, she drew back the tapestry that hung there and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the archway of little glowing runes still here. She'd carved this Finn's Window the previous year when her door had been guarded by Aurors.

The portal was invisible from the corridor and it meant she could come and go as she pleased without being spotted. The fact that the window was still there didn't automatically mean Dumbledore didn't know of it's existence though, and Alaw thought perhaps it would be a good idea to close the portal and then re-draw the runes from scratch.

But that could wait, by now she was absolutely starving and she let the tapestry fall back into place. The portrait of Phineas Nigellus was empty when Alaw passed through the living room but she spared it a contemptuous glance all the same.

Alaw was the first person to attend breakfast that morning so she was free to sit at the Slytherin table and tuck into her scrambled eggs in peace. People started entering the hall in twos and threes and Alaw watched them absently over her pumpkin juice. It was initiation week so there would be no lessons until next Monday. The first week of term was dedicated instead to getting the new students settled in to life at Hogwarts, they were encouraged to join societies and make new friends. Most importantly, Quidditch trials would be held later in the week. Alaw was determined not to waste initiation week, she would use this time to gather her allies, find out her enemies plans, and start trying to convince people that Voldemort was back.

She was nearly finished with her food when Tracy and Daphne walked into the hall and noticed Alaw sitting at the Slytherin table. Both glanced first at each other and then back out into the Entrance Hall before hurrying over to her.

"You might want to clear off, Theodore and them lot are right behind us," Daphne muttered and Alaw nodded, scooping the last of her eggs into her mouth and quickly swinging her legs out from under the table.

"Thanks for the heads up," she said feelingly. "Hey, would it be ok if we talked at some point?"

Daphne gave the doors another pained glance but then nodded reluctantly.

"Fine, but not right now, if Theodore sees us talking to you, we're dead! He made that quite clear last night."

"Making speeches about me is he?" Alaw asked, grinning. "I am honoured. See you later then."

She skirted the wall and had to step smartly into the shadow of the doors as Theodore, Crabbe, Goyle and Draco came through them. They seemed to be talking about Quidditch, which was strangely innocent for them, and they passed Alaw without spotting her. She let them move further down the table before slipping out of the Great Hall. There were several people coming down the grand staircase and emerging from the archway to the dungeons and they all stared unashamedly at Alaw as they passed. When she met their gazes they averted their eyes and whispered to each other.

Alaw wasn't sure what to do with herself this morning. Hermione, Ron and Neville probably weren't even awake yet and she didn't want to bother Daphne and Tracy whilst Theodore and his cronies were around. After tapping her foot thoughtfully on the flagstones for a few moments, Alaw turned and mounted the marble staircase. If she had some time to kill, she might as well spend it productively. She wasn't even sure the library would be open this early on the very first day of term but when she arrived on the second floor, she found that it was, and Madam Pince was already there sorting through some paperwork.

"Goodness!" she said when Alaw opened the door. "You are keen, no Miss Granger today?"

"Not today, no," said Alaw with a smile. Keeping on good terms with the draconian librarian was essential if one wanted to work in the library in peace. "But there's something I've been wanting to look up all summer and getting hold of magical books at home is kind of tricky. Would it be alright if I took a look at the catalogue?"

"Of course," said Madam Pince, obviously still very surprised. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, no, it's quite straightforward. Thank you," Alaw replied politely.

As the librarian went back to her papers, Alaw ventured over to the vast filing cabinets that held the library archive.

It had been quite a challenge for the muggle-borns to learn how to use the old fashioned system, so used to computers and search bars as they were. In reality, Alaw would have very much appreciated Madam Pince's help as she had no idea where to find what she was looking for, or even precisely what she was looking for, but she didn't want any word of her research reaching Dumbledore.

So she flicked through the catalogue with a slight frown etched on her face. Information about Prophecies would surely be under the Divination section, an area of the library Alaw had never ventured before because Divination was, to put it lightly, a turd of a subject. Not only was it pointless and pretentious, Alaw had personal beef with the Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney. Last year, Ron and Neville had chosen her class as one of their electives and after the very first lesson they had returned filled with dread after Trelawney had predicted Neville's death. Hermione and Alaw had forced the boys to drop the toxic subject on the spot and switch to the much more useful Muggle Studies.

So it was with an air of supreme scepticism that Alaw wrote down the shelf reference numbers and went hunting for any books that might be useful. The first volume she tried, _Unfogging the Future_ , was an introduction to the art of Divination and it only served to irritate Alaw. She skipped past the chapters on Astrology and Tarot Cards to spare her blood pressure and focused on real predictions, eventually alighting on a page about Prophecies.

' _Whilst all the methods of predicting the future so far discussed in this book require some skill from the predictor to interpret correctly, we now turn to Prophecies, by far the most mysterious branch of Divination. Those gifted with Second Sight are unable to force a vision of the future and have no control over when the vision may strike them. It is unusual for Seers to even remember that they have made a prediction and they rely on those to whom they gave the prophecy to tell them the details. When making a prediction, the Seer will enter a trance-like state and often speak in an altered voice._

 _As far as we know, Prophecies are always gifted to a person, or groups of people. If Seers make predictions without witnesses, it is impossible to know, but it seems unlikely. What exactly triggers a prediction is a matter of some debate among practitioners of Divination. It seems that the proximity of a certain listener is an important factor, for Prophecies are usually made to people whom they concern or could otherwise influence events_.'

The book then went on to warn about the folly of trying to change the future but Alaw snorted and stopped reading at that point. As someone who firmly did not believe in fate, she found the idea that a Prophecy set one's future in stone irritating. Surely it was simply one foretelling, and simply knowing what would happen would then change that future. She closed the book and sat back in her chair, frowning in thought.

The Order was guarding a Prophecy that concerned Voldemort, and possibly Alaw herself. Where? There had to be a library of sorts, somewhere. But how was this library maintained? If only the 'listener' of a Prophecy knew it had been made, surely they had to report that to whoever was in charge of the library. So how did one go about doing that?

Alaw returned _Unfogging the Future_ to the shelf and carried on with her search. Madam Pince didn't like people re-stocking the shelves themselves as they were want to do it wrong, but Alaw didn't want to leave evidence of her research just lying around. She wondered if she was being paranoid, would Dumbledore care what she was up to that much? But then she remembered Sir Cadogan and Phineas Nigellus and her resolve hardened. Yes, yes he certainly would.

Though Alaw spent most of the morning in the library, she was unable to find any hint of what happened to Prophecies after they were made. After admitting defeat, she left and went in search of Ron, Hermione and Neville. The castle was more crowded now and whenever Alaw encountered people they gave her suspicious looks. Was it going to be like this all year?

Sick of the whispers, Alaw ducked into an alcove and donned the invisibility cloak, then she took out a large piece of paper, folded over many times.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," she muttered, tapping the parchment with her wand.

As lines of ink blossomed on the page, Alaw once again congratulated herself on persuading Fred and George to give this to her at the end of last term. The Marauders Map had been the secret to their success, but with them in their final year at Hogwarts, she had convinced them that she could put it to better use. Besides, they didn't have time for pranks anymore, they had a joke shop to set up.

Once the map had finished forming, Alaw's eyes swept over the familiar corridors and rooms. She spotted Fred, George and Lee almost at once in a disused boys' toilet the floor above her.

"What the hell are you lot up to?" she murmured, shaking her head and moving on.

Draco was alone in the potions lab, Snape was in the staff room, Dumbledore was pacing in his tower and the new teacher, Professor Umbridge was in her office. And Ron, Neville and Hermione were sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. Alaw was about to stow the map away and make her way up to the seventh floor when she noticed two other people she wanted to talk to. Daphne and Tracy were sitting together in a corner of the Transfiguration Courtyard. Alaw deliberated. The courtyard was a lot closer than the tower, and this was the perfect opportunity to talk to the girls. Making her decision, Alaw wiped the map, put it in her bag and set off for the nearest shortcut to take her outside.

It was a fine day as summer was yet to release its grip so there were many students lounging on the grass in the courtyard. Alaw skirted around a group of gossiping Ravenclaws and approached the large oak tree in the corner of the square. Daphne and Tracy were stretched out in its shade, talking quietly and as they were a decent distance from the other people around them, Alaw felt safe enough to drop down and whisper,

"Guess who?"

Daphne yelped and Tracy jumped out of her skin.

"Ok, who's messing around?" Daphne asked angrily.

With her back to the rest of the courtyard, Alaw lifted her hood just a little and winked at the girls who looked surprised and then annoyed.

"Did you really need to scare us like that?" Tracy asked irritably and Alaw chuckled, covering up once more.

"No, but it was fun," She turned around and sat between the two friends with her back resting against the tree trunk. "Pretend you're talking to each other. So, how are you both?"

Daphne glanced around the courtyard before sighing and picking at the grass in front of her.

"Not so great to be honest, seeing as I'm now engaged to a complete bastard."

"The fuck?!" Alaw gasped. "You're engaged? But I thought your parents we're going to do all that match making crap?"

"Yes well, things changed over the summer," said Daphne grimly. "Father wanted to make strong alliances. So, the summer after next, once I finish Hogwarts, I'll be marrying Thorfinn Rowle."

Alaw couldn't help but make a disgusted sound.

"Thorfinn Rowle?! But he's like forty or something! No, they can't do that to you! Why would your dad do this?"

Alaw also knew for a fact that Rowle was an active Death Eater, having heard the Order of the Phoenix talk about him. He'd been caught and tried for minor offenses at the end of the first war but had managed to get off due to the fact that he wasn't twenty-one yet and his family was one of the wealthiest in the country. The Ministry had never discovered the true extent of his crimes. And now her fiery, independent friend was going to be married off to him? Daphne looked miserable.

"Like I said, things changed over the summer. Everyone was tense and watching to see what everyone else would do. Father thought it was best to make a show of tradition."

There was silence, during which Tracy reached across the grass and squeezed her friend's fingers.

"So, any idea why things changed so drastically? Why the old families are so scared all of a sudden?" Alaw asked cautiously, and Daphne turned her head towards the patch of apparently empty air Alaw occupied.

"Are you asking us if we believe you about You-Know-Who being back?" she asked bluntly and Alaw frowned.

"Yes," she sighed.

"Then just say that then. And I don't know, Al. I just don't know. The Dark Lord died! Everyone knows that, he died twenty years ago and his Death Eaters were either sent to Azkaban or went back to their normal lives."

Alaw was acutely aware that Daphne's own uncle of her mother's side, Evan Rosier, had fought for Voldemort during the war. His crimes were legendary and he chosen to fight to the death rather than be taken to Azkaban.

"But?" Alaw prompted and Daphne shook her head and rubbed the heel of her palms into her eyes.

"But, things have been really weird since May. Something's happened, my parents are scared, my aunts and uncles aren't saying a word. Maybe you are telling the truth."

"Why would I lie?" asked Alaw softly and Daphne lowered her hands.

"I don't know, I was just really hoping you were."

There was another pause and then Alaw spoke quietly.

"He's back, I saw it happen. I saw his servant build him a new body, I saw Voldemort rise again. And I saw his Death Eaters return to him when he called them. It's only through sheer luck that I got away, but I promise you, I'm not lying, and I'm not mad. I just want to warn everyone so they can watch their backs."

Tracy gazed around at the courtyard for a while, watching the various groups laughing and talking and playing cards.

"I believe you Al," she said at last. "I wish it wasn't true, but it is. I can feel it."

"Yeah, me too," Daphne agreed grudgingly.

Alaw let out out the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. Well, that was a relief. Life was going to be a lot easier now she had people in her own house who were on her side.

"Thanks guys," she said feelingly. "I promise I'll do my best not get you two dragged into anything nasty, but it's nice to know someone's got my back in Slytherin. Who else do you think we can rely on? Cameron?"

Tracy snorted and Daphne shook her head.

"No way, haven't you seen him? He's been thoroughly deloused. Scared out of his mind. I don't know what his dad said to him before putting him on the train, but I don't think he'll dare put another toe out of line."

"Fair enough," Alaw sighed saddly. "And I assume Flora is a no go?"

"She's engaged to William Yaxley," said Tracy distastefully. "Remember him? Graduated last year."

Alaw remembered, and she also remembered hearing the name Yaxley whilst the Flames had been evesdropping on the Order. He was a high ranking Death Eater, so William was likely to be his son or nephew. Who could have guessed Voldemort knew how to play the marriage game so well. Daphne was pursing her lips thoughtfully.

"You know, Millie might be worth talking to."

"Millicent Bulstrode?" Alaw asked in surprise and Daphne nodded.

"You did save her life in first year, after the Dementor got her, Pansy and Hestia. Those two bitches might have forgotten but Millie never did. And she and Pansy had some sort of falling out a few weeks ago, don't know what it was about though."

Now that Alaw thought about it, she remembered that Millicent had been sitting alone on the Hogwarts Express, crying, whilst she would normally have sat with her friends.

"Ok, I'll talk to her. Anyone else?"

Daphne looked at Tracy for ideas but the latter shrugged.

"I don't know Al, everyone is keeping their cards close to their chests at the moment. You should have heard Theodore last night in the Common Room, gave a big speech about how anyone caught fraternizing with a muggle-born or a blood traitor was dead meat. And I don't think he was messing around, I think he's serious. Of course, he never needed much excuse to pester a half-blood bastard like me."

"Leave Theodore to me," said Alaw darkly. "I already got his uncle suspended from the Wizengamot, and I'm really looking forward to getting Theodore back for all the crap he put me through in first year. I'm sure Fred and George will have some creative ideas for me."

With the groundwork laid, Alaw left the Slytherin girls alone and returned indoors. It wasn't much but it was a start.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time Alaw caught up with Hermione and the boys. She'd gone back to her rooms to nap after leaving Daphne and Tracy and she awoke well after lunch time feeling groggy and hungry, but a lot more rested than she had early that morning. Yawning hugely, she had consulted the Marauders Map and found that her friends were ensconced in Gryffindor Tower, so that was where she headed.

"Oh for goodness sake!" the Fat Lady griped when Alaw stood before her, looking expectant. "This is getting ridiculous! I cannot allow Slytherins into this tower!"

"You let me last year!" Alaw complained and the Fat Lady scowled.

"Against my better judgement, I assume you. And what, pray tell, is that vulgar Welshman doing in the next corridor? I don't trust him, his eyes are too close together."

"Professor Dumbledore put him there to guard my rooms," Alaw explained. "I didn't ask for it!"

It was at this point that Fred and George entered the corridor and saw Alaw standing there before the irate portrait.

"Won't let you in?" Fred asked, grinning. "Hang on, Diligrout."

The Fat Lady glared at all three of them and gave a great 'humph!', before swinging open to let them pass.

"I think she's starting to like me," Alaw said cheerfully. "Thanks for the help. What have you two been up to all day?"

"Just discussing business with Lee," said George evasively. "Don't want to say too much until the plans are finalised though. See you later."

"And with that, he and Fred disappeared upstairs to the boys dormitory.

The common room wasn't too crowded as most people seemed to be out and about on such a fine day. Seamus emerged from the stairwell with a broom over his shoulder, but he stopped abruptly when he saw Alaw. Alaw spared him a nod before heading over to the window where Hermione was sitting with a book open in her lap. She seemed to be trying to learn a new spell since she had her wand in her hand and she was muttering under her breath. Neville was tending to one of his plants on the windowsill and Ron was flicking through Witch Broomstick.

"Al," he greeted as she approached. "Where have you been all day?"

"Napping for the most part," Alaw shrugged, dropping onto the carpet next to him. "And Slytherining, talked to some people."

She glanced around the room to see if anyone was close enough to hear their conversation. Seamus had joined Lavender and Parvati in the opposite corner and they were looking her way, so Alaw lowered her voice.

"It looks like Daphne and Tracy are on board. And maybe Millicent. But Cameron and Flora are out of the question unfortunately, it sounds like their families are putting major pressure on them to act all respectable. Can't blame them really, they're all terrified. I have no idea about the rest of the Slytherins."

Neville glanced around from pruning his potted plant, a slight frown creasing his forehead.

"You're not thinking of asking them to joint he Flames are you?" he asked and Alaw shook her head.

"Not at the moment I'm not. They believe me about Voldemort, but they're scared of what Theodore would do if he found out they were even talking to me. I don't want to put them in danger. Maybe I'll mention it to them once we've got things properly set up. Where are we on that by the way?"

Hermione closed the book and tapped her wand on the palm of her hand.

"Well we haven't had much chance to talk to Dean in private yet. And, I was thinking, we need somewhere less - exposed - to meet up and plan things. We can't talk in here, not if we're planning on bringing in people from other houses."

"Yeah, and my rooms are no good either because they've been put under surveillance," said Alaw bitterly and all three of them looked at her in surprise, so she filled them in on the presence of Sir Cadogan and Phineas Nigellus.

"Alright, that's taking a bit too far," said Ron angrily. "Why doesn't Dumbledore trust us?!"

"Yeah, it's not like we're trying to set up a secret organisation to do the one thing he told us not to right under his nose!" Neville quipped and Alaw sniggered. But Ron and Hermione glanced at each other seriously.

"If Dumbledore is keeping that close of an eye on you, we definitely need somewhere better to make our headquarters. Somewhere he doesn't know about," said Hermione. "But I'm not sure there's a single corner of this castle he doesn't know!"

Alaw chewed her lip but no bright ideas popped into her head. She also became aware that Lavender, Seamus and Parvati were whispering covertly to each other, shooting suspicious glances at Alaw and her friends. When they saw her glance over at them, Seamus nodded to the other two and walked over to the window.

"Alaw," he said stiffly. "What are you doing in here?"

Though she had half-expected this, Alaw still wasn't quite prepared for this confrontation. Before she could open her mouth, Ron had jumped in to defend her.

"She's talking to us, is that a crime now?" he snapped. Seamus looked coldly at him.

"She's a Slytherin, Slytherins can't come in here. If you want to talk, you can go somewhere else. She has her own rooms just down the corridor!"

"You didn't care last year!" said Hermione hotly.

"That was before she came out with all this crazy stuff about You-Know-Who," said Lavender.

By now, everyone else in the common room had turned to watch and Alaw felt herself getting a little hot under the collar from all the pairs of eyes trained on her. She gestured at her friends to stay quiet and then got to her feet.

"I don't want any trouble, I'll go," she said with as much dignity as she could manage.

"Al, no! You've got every right to be here!" said Neville, glaring daggers at his fellow Gryffindors. "You people are so callous! She's already been kicked out of the Slytherin common room for being a muggle-born, now you want to kick her out of the tower too?! Why would you be so cruel?"

Being compared to the Slytherins obvious stung because Parvati looked down at her feet awkwardly and Seamus swallowed. Lavender however scowled.

"She has her own rooms, she doesn't need to come in here," she said stubbornly. "This is supposed to be a safe place, so I don't want to some crazy woman hanging around."

Alaw cocked her head at this and looked Lavender in the eye.

"Are you afraid of me, Lavender?" she asked. "Really? You've seen me in Defence Against the Dark Arts, if I tried to jinx you, I'd be more likely to hurt myself that you."

There were a few titters from the onlookers but Lavender was unmoved. Seamus actually took out his wand.

"This is your last warning, get out and stop bothering us with your crazy stories," he said. At these words, Ron and Neville both whipped out their wands and Hermione made a scandalised noise.

"You're threatening her?! Is that what's actually happening? You touch her you little shit and you won't be able to sit down for a week!" Ron snarled.

As everyone squared off, Dean appeared from the stairwell and came over to the angry group, looking bemused.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Your mate is threatening to hurt me friend, that's what's happening!" said Ron, looking like he would dearly like to curse Seamus. Alaw grabbed his arm and pushed it down firmly.

"No duelling on my behalf, if you please," she said sharply. "I'm going. I already took this shit from the Slytherins so I don't need it now from you lot."

She pushed past Seamus who stepped smartly away from her, as if she was diseased. Trying not to look at anyone in particular, Alaw walked to the portrait hole and climbed through it without a backwards glance.

* * *

Unlike Gryffindor tower and it's distinctive guardian, the entrance to the Slytherin common room was a seemingly blank stretch of wall that one could easily walk past without noticing. It was in the corridor adjacent to Snape's class room and it was here that Alaw waited under the invisibility cloak. Even in September, the stone walls made the air chilly and she hoped she wouldn't be here too long. Thankfully, she only ad to wait a couple of minutes before a group of Slytherin first years appeared.

"Asphodel," said the girl at the front and as the stones groaned apart to make an entrance, Alaw quickly jotted down the password in her notebook.

Even though she couldn't be seen in the common room, she always kept a log of the passwords required to get in, just in case. She stepped smartly into the room after the first years before the wall closed up again and then took stock of the seating arrangements. The common room was rectangular in shape with fireplaces along the walls and a large window opposite the entrance that looked out into the depths of the lake. During the day, sunlight illuminated the waters and sometimes revealed creatures within, but for now it was too dark to see anything. Black leather chairs and sofas were grouped around the fireplaces and low tables, and several Slytherins were sitting together, talking, reading or playing gobstones.

Pansy Parkinson was playing cards with Hestia and Flora and Alaw edged over to them to listen in on their conversation.

"Do you think Phillip will propose on your birthday?" Pansy was asking as she placed a card down on the table between them. Hestia shrugged.

"I don't know, he's old fashioned, he might wait until the summer to make it official."

"And have you started thinking about arrangements yet? Mama knows a very florist, they did an excellent job when my cousin got married."

Alaw shook her head and and opened her notebook to a fresh page. Was everyone engaged all of a sudden?! And who was this Phillip character, she didn't recognise the name.

"When Draco and I get married, I want roses," Pansy said, not waiting for Hesita to speak. "Red and white for my bouquet. Mama wants me to go to Twilfitt and Tatting's for my dress but I think I can persuade her to take me to Paris instead."

Pansy continued to prattle about her wedding plans and Alaw felt her blood begin to boil the longer she listened, so she moved away before the urge to hex her became too much. Flora hadn't said a word the entire time and kept looking mournfully over at Cameron, who sat alone in a corner. Alaw felt sorry for her, she and Cameron had been an established couple since first year, but now she was set to marry the deeply unpleasant William Yaxley. Alaw wondered if she should add 'break up engagements' to the Flames' list of goals.

Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle were sitting by the big window and Alaw smiled grimly when she saw they were talking in low voices, away from everyone else. Well, that looked promising. She tiptoed over to them and settled down on the arm of an unoccupied chair to eavesdrop, her notebook open on her lap and her pen poised.

"I don't know what's happened to him," Crabbe was saying, shaking his head. "He never used to have a problem with putting mudbloods in their place when we were kids."

"He's always been a cowardly little shit though," Goyle countered. "Always had us around to defend him didn't he? Whenever we had run ins with Weasley and his mates, he always let us do the hard stuff. Now he's lost his nerve altogether."

"Yeah, Draco doesn't have the stomach for what we have to do," Theodore agreed, doodling something on the front page of his new Transfiguration textbook. It only took a second or two for Alaw to notice that it was a rough sketch of the Dark Mark. "Once the Master realised what pussy Draco actually is, he'll kick him out, or polish him off for good. I don't think his dad would mind."

There was silence for a few moments as Theodore sat back to admire his edgy handy-work and Crabbe picked at his teeth. Eventually he asked,

"Do you reckon we should bring Draco in on the plan?"

"No," Theodore said at once. "He can't handle it. You know he's got a thing about mudblood girls, especially Jones. He'll get all huffy and say the Master wouldn't want us to move so soon, as if he knows anything about what the Master wants. I can't wait to make Jones squeal."

"How are we going to get her alone though?" Goyle asked. "She never goes anywhere without her gang of blood traitors, and sometimes she just disappears completely!"

"We could get her in her rooms?" Crabbe suggested. "No one to scream for up there."

"No good, her rooms are too well protected. Though, I guess we could wait for her to come back to them one night," Theodore mused. An unpleasant smile curled his lips. "I wonder if Draco will still want her after we're done with her."

Draco had felt no desire to stay in the common room with Theodore and the others that evening. It had been clear all summer that they had lost all respect they once had for him and that Theodore was trying to muscle him out of their friendship group entirely. Well, that was just fine with Draco. He'd much rather be alone than take part in their plans to wreak havoc on the muggle-borns. If he didn't know about the plans in the first place, his father couldn't get angry that he wasn't involved. So Draco had closeted himself away in his room after dinner and he had been reading on his bed ever since. It was nine o'clock when there came a faint knock on his door and Draco glanced up, frowning. He swung his legs off the bed and crossed to answer the knock. But there was no one out in the circular hall and he glanced around in confusion. Then he spotted the book lying on the floor at his feet. Suspiciously, he bent to pick it up. It was a handsome tome, bound in green leather with the title, _The Hobbit_ , embossed in gold on the cover. There was also a handwritten note stuck to it.

 _Sorry I missed your birthday_.

Draco grinned in spite of himself, gave the hall one last glance, and then closed his door.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

 **Striking the Match**

The Gryffindors weren't the only one's hostile towards Alaw, she soon discovered. Over the next few days, whispers followed her down the corridors and students and teachers alike stared shamelessly at her. She was no longer welcome at the Gryffindor table for meals, nor could she sit with the Slytherins, so Alaw would take a hamper down to the Great Hall to pack some food into before going up to her rooms or out into the grounds to eat.

Hermione and the boys were absolutely furious at their fellow Gryffindors for their treatment of Alaw and spent their evenings in her rooms rather than the tower. Alaw, for the most part, tried to ignore the snarky comments and focused on getting the Order of the Flames set up as a proper organisation. And so it was that she found herself sitting with Ron on Friday in the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade. She had never been overly fond of this establishment. Whereas the Three Broomsticks was warm and comforting, full of laughter and the smell of cooking, the Hogs Head had an atmosphere of danger.

The bar tender was a surly man with a wild beard who glared at his customers. He was currently shooting suspicious glances at Ron and Alaw as he wiped down the bar and Alaw took a sip of her gillywater to avoid his gaze.

"Wish we didn't have to meet in here," she muttered, her eyes shifting around the room.

There were a couple of men in the corner who kept looking at her and sniggering to each other. A witch who wore a long vale was sitting alone at a table with a glass of sherry in front of her and at the bar, a man with his head completely wrapped in bandages was ordering glass after glass of a smoking drink. Ron was keeping a close eye on the door.

"I know, but Hermione's right, there's way too many people in the Three Broomsticks who will blab to Dumbledore. Oh thank god they're here."

The door had just opened and a crowd of people came in, led by Neville and Hermione. After them came the Hufflepuff third years, Earnie, Hannah, Susan and Justine. Ginny was chatting animatedly to Luna Lovegood and Fred, George and Lee brought up the rear, their arms full of bulging paper bags.

"What are those?" Ron asked curiously as George dumped the bags on the bench beside him.

"Some materials for the joke shop, hey! Hands off, this isn't ready for the public yet!"

Ron snatched his hand away sharply as George swatted him away. Up at the bar, the rest of the group was ordering drinks and the bar keeper looked thoroughly irritated at having so many patrons to deal with. Alaw fiddled with her glass nervously and took a generous gulp.

"What's up?" Ron asked when he noticed her shifting in her seat.

"Just not sure what I'm going to say to all these people," she muttered. "I'm not so great with speeches. And I wish we could have invited Daphne and Tracy."

"But you said they wouldn't want to join!" Ron reminded her and Alaw sighed.

The students dragged extra chairs over to the table by the window and once they were all seated with their drinks before them, they looked expectantly at Alaw, who swallowed.

"Ok, uh, hi," she began lamely. "Thanks for coming. We know we can trust you guys, that's why we invited you here today. You guys believe that Voldemort is back in the country and gathering followers, and I think we should do something about it."

The listeners all exchanged glances and Ernie McMillan spoke up.

"We believe you Al, and we trust Dumbledore on this matter. But you have to understand, we can't just take your word on it. Dumbledore didn't give us any details at the end of last term, all he said was that You-Know-Who is back. He didn't say how, or why you were there, or if Sirius Black was involved. Before we start forming resistances, I think we all have a right to know those things."

Alaw had expected this and she had prepared herself accordingly. She couldn't tell them the whole truth, not without revealing the existence of Emrys or the fact that she had been having disturbing visions about Voldemort for the past two years. But an edited version of the truth was needed.

"You're right," she agreed. "You do deserve the whole story, and I'll tell you what I can and answer any questions you have. But, um, it's a lot more complicated than you think, so bear with me. There's loads of stuff you haven't been told, so let's go way back to first year and the Dementor. You were told that Quirell was behind that, but he wasn't, he was just a pawn. It was actually Voldemort."

There was the usual collective flinch as she said Voldemort's name but there were also looks of shock.

"How?" asked Susan, her eyes wide. "You-Know-Who died twenty years ago! My aunt told me, the Ministry found his body, a spell of his had backfired and killed him."

Alaw raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. So, that was the official story at the Ministry was it? Interesting. She wondered if Madam Bones knew the real reason Voldemort's spell had backfired that day. She filed that question away for later and addressed Susan's query.

"His body was destroyed by the backfiring spell," she confirmed. "But his spirit lived on. I don't know how, but his consciousness somehow survived and he escaped to Albania. Then, the summer before our first year, Quirell found him. Voldemort convinced Quirell to bring him back to Hogwarts and to release the Dementor in the castle. He was going to use the souls to restore his powers and he was using Quirell's body as a puppet. It was - horrible."

She shuddered at the memory of Voldemort's snake-like face sticking out of the back of Quirell's head. Susan smiled at Alaw.

"But you stopped him, you saved all those souls."

She glanced at Ernie who was also smiling at Alaw. He had been one of the Dementor's victims, perhaps it was no surprise that he was willing to believe Alaw now. Alaw felt her face grow a little hot and she looked down at her now empty glass.

"Uh, yeah," she said awkwardly. "Anyway, moving on to the events of last year. After Quirell died, Voldemort's ghost-thing booked it back to Albania and then Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, blah-di-blah, you all know that bit. But what you don't know is why he broke out, or why he came all the way to Hogwarts and kept sneaking into the castle. Dumbledore and the Ministry think he was trying to kill me, specifically, because he had somehow gotten wind of the fact that I'd messed up his master's plans in first year."

Hermione looked sharply at Alaw but didn't interrupt her. Alaw knew why, she hadn't mentioned the fact that Voldemort had tried to kill her as a baby, and that that had been Sirius' supposed motive for trying to kill her. But Alaw wasn't prepared the bring that up today, or ever, if she could manage it. She didn't want people to know just how deep her connection to Voldemort ran. She continued her story.

"So, fast forward to last May. Hogwarts has won the Quidditch Cup, there's a big party in the village, and I, like a complete idiot, decide to sneak out of the castle to join in, even though Dumbledore had told me not to leave my room without a guard. That was my fault, I was a moron. So there I am in the village when Theodore Nott spots me and chases me down an alley. Whilst I'm hiding, this bloke I've never seen before pops out of no where, grabs me, and apparates me to the old graveyard on the mountain above the village."

She jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the general direction of said mountain.

"Once we're there he disarms me and ties me to a tree and then, then he does this ritual."

She really didn't want to describe her horrifying experience in too much detail but there wasn't really a way to avoid it. The others all cringed and made sounds of consternation as she recounted the gruesome process. Bone of the father, flesh of the servant, and blood of the enemy. Ernie, looking faintly sick, shook his head grimly.

"That's old magic, very old," he said. "Completely barbaric by today's standards and illegal under every civilized government. And he used your blood? A muggle-born?"

"Yeah, I know it seems like a weird choice but I guess he wanted to get back at me for the Dementor thing. So, after all that had been done, he, he came back. Voldemort, he had a new body and he rose out of that cauldron right in front of my eyes."

"What was he like?" Ginny asked in a quiet voice and Alaw paused.

"Like some sort of freak," she said, just as quietly. "I guess he looks mainly human, but he's a monster. Then he summoned the Death Eaters using his servant's Dark Mark. He touched it, and, I don't know, I guess it burns them and let's them know where he is, because they all apparated to the graveyard in about a minute."

"Who were they?" asked Lee and Alaw shrugged.

"They were wearing masks so I couldn't recognise any of them. There were about a dozen of them. Let me tell you, he was _not_ happy with them. Thankfully, whilst he was distracted punishing them, someone else showed up to help me escape."

This was where her story differed greatly from the true version of events. She certainly wasn't going to tell them how Voldemort had forced her to duel him, and she wasn't going to complicate things further by bringing up the Druid protection. This next revelation on it's own was going to be tricky.

"You're not going to believe this, but the guy who helped me escape, was Sirius Black."

There were more cries of disbelief, but they were short lived as people lent in, eager for Alaw to finish her story. She had a feeling that every person in the bar was listening in on them.

"Black cut the ropes and we disapparated down to the Forbidden Forest. We went through the trees, found Dumbledore and told him what had happened. But then when Dumbledore tried to tell the stupid Ministry, they refused to believe him!"

"Hang on Al, back up, what was Sirius Black, Voldemort's supporter, doing saving you?" asked Justine.

"They were wrong about Black," Alaw explained. "The Ministry were wrong. It turns out he was never a Death Eater. He was innocent."

"But he killed Peter Pettigrew!" Susan protested.

"He tried to kill Pettigrew," Alaw corrected. "Because Pettigrew was the real traitor! Black found out and confronted him, but Pettigrew confunded Black and blew up the street to make it look like he'd been killed. So whilst Black was sent to Azkaban without a trial, Pettigrew escaped and has been in hiding all these years. He joined up with Voldemort last year and it was him who nabbed me in the village and did the whole ritual. He's the real bastard."

There was stunned silence following this statement and Alaw took the opportunity to get up and order a refill whilst they all digested that information. When she returned with a fresh drink they had all recovered somewhat.

"So, uh, what happened to Black? Where is he now?" asked Ernie and Alaw shrugged.

"No idea," she lied. "He took off after the Ministry turned out to be a colossal bunch of wankers."

Lee Jordan snorted but Susan frowned reproachfully, obviously thinking of her aunt. Alaw set her drink on the table and looked around at the gathered students.

"So, that's the truth. The Ministry is convinced that Dumbledore is trying to destabilise them and make himself Minister for Magic. Now to be honest, I don't give a flying toss what Dumbledore and the Ministry bitch over. I'm just interested in fighting Voldemort, this group we're forming has nothing to do with Dumbledore. In fact, he specifically told us to stay out of all this but he can go fuck himself as far as I'm concerned. So who wants to take down bad guys with us?"

Looks were exchanged around the table and Fred spoke up, grinning.

"You know we've been in from the start Al, the Weasleys stand with you."

"And the Hufflepuffs!" Hannah chimed in fiercely. "We're not going to sit around waiting for You-Know-Who to come to us!"

There were nods of agreement from her friends, though Ernie looked nervous and Susan conflicted. Alaw looked at Luna Lovegood who had so far not said a word for the entire meeting.

"Oh, I'm joining for sure," she said dreamily when all eyes turned to her. "The Ministry has been covering things up for decades. My father has been trying to expose them, but they always hush it up."

This peaked Alaw's interest but she noticed Hermione roll her eyes behind Luna's back. With the formalities out of the way, Alaw felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders, just as it had when Tracy and Daphne and voiced their support for her. Here were people who didn't think she was mad or lying, people who believed in her, and were willing to fight along side her.

"Right," she said, smiling for the first time since they all sat down. "So, now that we've all agreed to join this group, I guess we should lay out our objectives. Obviously, the main thing we need to do is convince as many people as possible of the truth."

"How are we going to do that?" Justine asked doubtfully. "If we start shooting our mouths off about Voldemort, the Ministry are going to come down on us like a ton of bricks!"

"Talking isn't illegal," said Hermione stoutly. "Not yet, anyway. Just telling people the truth by word of mouth won't get us into trouble. And Al and I already started reaching out to Muggle-borns over the summer using the internet."

Justine nodded, he of course had seen their efforts of Mugglenet, but the others looked mystified. Alaw quickly outlined what they'd been up to in the Mended Cauldron and how they already had a solid base of believers all over the country and abroad.

"Wow, you have been busy," said Susan, impressed. "You know, perhaps we should try talking to my aunt. Not everyone at the Ministry is as short sighted as Fudge and she might be interested in what you have to say."

"I was thinking the same thing, do you think you could write to her about it?" Alaw asked earnestly and Susan nodded. There were many other topics Alaw wished to cover but she wasn't going to discuss them in such a public place. This then naturally led to their next item.

"We'll need a proper meeting place," Alaw mused. "Not one of the common rooms, obviously, and my rooms are no good either."

"Library?" Lee suggested and Alaw bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Maybe," she said slowly.

If she was honest with herself, she didn't think the library was any more secure than her rooms. They needed somewhere secret, somewhere Dumbledore didn't know about, or else wouldn't have bugged. Her immediate thought was the Forbidden Forest, but whilst it was easy for her to sneak down there under the cloak, any more people would be sure to attract attention. Hagrid's hut was also out with this reason. No, it would have to be somewhere within the castle.

"I'll have a think and get back to you all about it," she said after a moment. "And - I guess that's all we can really talk about until we find a good meeting place then."

And so their little gathering concluded without much fanfare. The others left in their groups and Alaw drained her drink before depositing it at the bar and nodding to the innkeeper.

"Do you think that went ok?" she asked the others anxiously as they stepped out into bright sunlight. Hermione squeezed her shoulder.

"You did brilliantly. I honestly think we have a fighting chance now. I still can't understand why Dumbledore was so against us doing something like this in the first place. We're not doing anything illegal or dangerous, we're just trying to prepare people for what's coming. Imagine, if we didn't do this, all the Muggle-borns would be walking blindly into goodness knows what!"

Personally, Alaw felt that Dumbledore was more interested in fighting Voldemort head on than worrying about collateral damage. She held fast to her belief that he hadn't wanted people like her, people who questioned his orders, in his organisation. Perhaps it was for the best that she couldn't join the Order of the Phoenix, if she had, the Flames would never have been born.

The rest of the weekend passed without incident. The fine weather meant that Alaw spent most of her time down in the forest with Emrys who was quite giddy to have company again. He wanted to go flying but Alaw absolutely forbade it, except for a little gliding below the treeline. He kept trying to get her to hop on his back but Alaw refused point blank. Her one terrifying experience of dragon-riding had been enough to last a lifetime.

On Sunday evening, Alaw, Hermione, Neville and Ron were sitting in her living room playing cards, wondering aloud what their lessons would be like.

"I wonder what that Umbridge woman will get us to do," said Ron, shuffling his cards and frowning.

"Nothing radical I shouldn't think," Hermione sighed. "She'll probably stick rigidly to the curriculum.

"Shame, I always liked it when Lupin taught us new stuff," said Neville, taking a card from Ron's hand and rearranging his own before offering it to Alaw.

Before Alaw could take a card however, they all jumped out of their skin as they heard an faint, echoing voice call,

" _Alaw Jones_!"

Alaw looked around at the portrait of Phineas Nigellus but it was empty tonight. Then Hermione squeaked and pointed up at the mantelpiece. Alaw had propped the two-way mirror Sirius had given her against the chimney and now, Sirius' distorted face was peering down at them. Quick as a whip, Alaw leaped up from the carpet and ran to cover the Phineas Nigellus' painting with a throw. She'd hidden the picture from view before but every time she returned to her rooms she found that the throw had been neatly folded and placed back on the sofa.

"Sirius, Jesus Christ!" Alaw hissed, returning to the fireplace and picking up the mirror. "I didn't know you were going to call tonight!"

"I'm under express orders," said Sirius, grinning at her. Hermione arranged some books on the coffee table and Alaw stood the mirror up against them so they could all see her god father.

"Orders from who?" asked Ron and Sirius looked at them all sternly.

"Your mother. I was told by her to tell you that she forbids you from joining any secret organisations designed to fight Voldemort. She says you're bound to be expelled and your future will be ruined. She also advises the rest of you to drop the group before you get into trouble, but she does acknowledge that you are grown adults who can make your own decisions."

Alaw was furious.

"You told her!" she cried indignantly and Sirius looked affronted.

"Me?! I never breathed a word about the Flames. I'm on your side. It was Mundungus regaling the Order with tales of your exploits in the Hog's Head last night."

"Mundungus? How did he find out?" asked Hermione in confusion. "He wasn't in the pub that day."

"Oh yes he was, he was the witch under the vale. He's been tasked with keeping an eye on you lot whilst you're in the village, but he was banned from the Hog's Head twenty years ago so he had to improvise."

The youngsters groaned and Alaw, after cursing Mundungus colourfully under her breath in Welsh, cocked her head curiously.

"How did the Order react when they heard our plans?"

Sirius smiled.

"It ranged from annoyance, to amusement, to downright applause, but I won't tell you from who. Dumbledore was exasperated."

"My goal in life, to exasperate Albus Dumbledore," said Alaw happily and Sirius' smile turned to a frown.

"Yeah well, just don't push it alright?" he said. "Dumbledore's got enough on his plate without worrying about you lot too. Next time, make sure your meeting is actually private."

"Well, that's kind of a problem," said Ron. "We're having trouble thinking of anywhere secret. Al says it has to be in the castle so that no one get suspicious, but there isn't a single corner of this place that Dumbledore doesn't know like the back of his hand!"

"There was a pretty roomy secret passage behind a big mirror on the fourth floor when I was at school," said Sirius musingly. "Try checking it out to see if it's still there. But whatever you do, don't go drawing too much attention to yourself. Dumbledore will be the least of your worries if Umbridge catches you spreading propaganda against the Ministry."

"Do you know Umbridge?" asked Alaw eagerly.

She'd only caught a few glimpses of their new professor over the course of initiation week, at meals and occasionally in the corridors. The other teachers always looked like they were giving her a wide berth. Sirius' expression turned dark.

"No but Remus does, you should hear the way he talks about her. She's the reason he had to quit this year. She forced through a new law saying Werewolves can't work with under age witches and wizards. And since he's been outed to the world, he's been finding it hard to find a new job. He's been staying with me in the house a lot."

Neville and Hermione made scandalised noises and Ron swore. Alaw scowled.

"Great, can't wait to meet the bitch," she said darkly. "Anything else you want to tell us off for?"

"Nope, just remember, be careful. It's not just the Ministry, if you're tangling with the students who have joined Voldemort you could be in real danger. I find the young ones tend to be a lot more fanatical and unpredictable than their parents. They don't have Voldemort there to keep them in line, they'll act out on their own and you lot will be their targets."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note - Umbridge time! I somehow hated her more than Voldemort and all his Death Eaters combined. It was something about how smug she was, and how self-righteous. Thank you so much to SecretHufflepuff, my new reviewer on Mudblood Slytherin, I promise I'll give the typos my full attention soon. I now have someone grammar checking all my new chapters before I publish them.**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **Professor Umbridge**

The fine weather the students had enjoyed during Initiation Week had come to an end by the time Monday arrived, and when Alaw entered the Great Hall for breakfast, there was rain pattering against the high windows and the ceiling was a dismal gray. Ron, Hermione and Neville headed for the Gryffindor table at the far end of the hall but Alaw veered left and seated herself with her fellow Slytherins. Usually she wouldn't have dared, but she needed her new timetable and Snape had a habit of 'forgetting' her if she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

The table was laden with platters of bacon, eggs and sausages; great tureens of porridge and boxes of cereal. Alaw tucked in to a couple of boiled eggs and soldiers and tried to look unobtrusive. It was no good, though. She'd barely managed to take a few bites when a shadow fell across her and she looked up to find Theodore, Crabbe, Goyle and Draco standing opposite her.

"Morning, mudblood," said Theodore, smirking.

"Good morning," Alaw replied. She glanced up at the staff table and saw that the heads of house had left their seats and were busy handing out timetables. Snape was still at the far end of the table, though and was unlikely to intervene.

"Haven't seen you all week," said Theodore casually, twirling his wand between his fingers. Alaw gripped the handle of her own wand under the table. "I was starting to think you hadn't bothered coming back to school, you know, after that nasty business at the end of last year."

Alaw cocked her head and wondered how best to proceed. Hermione would tell her to ignore Theodore, but experience had taught Alaw that ignoring a bully simply didn't work. If they didn't get the reaction they wanted from you, they'd be driven to physical means. So Alaw played along for now.

"How is your new boss, incidentally? I suppose he was glad when term started, so he could have you idiots out of his hair. If he had hair of course."

Crabbe and Goyle glared at Alaw and cracked their knuckles threateningly. Theodore scowled and Alaw didn't see Draco's reaction because she was very deliberately not looking at him.

"Go ahead, mudblood. Make all the jokes you like. We both know that when the master gets his hands on you, they won't seem so funny anymore," Theodore hissed menacingly. He kept his voice low so that no one else would hear them and Alaw's eyes narrowed.

"Tell me, did it hurt? Getting the Dark Mark, I mean. I imagine it did."

Theodore's left arm twitched and Alaw glanced at it briefly. She hadn't actually seen his tattoo but she knew he had it because she'd overheard him talk about it with his friends a few days ago. How she would dearly love to grab his arm and push his sleeve back so the whole school could see the ugly stain on his skin.

"He's going to get you, mudblood," Theodore growled. "You and every other piece of filth in this dump. Our master has some special plans for you. Would you like to hear them?"

"Not really," said Alaw dismissively. "I'm more interested in his plans for you lot actually. Because, no offence, but you're kind of young to be his top people; he's got your daddies for that. But I suppose every cult leader needs adoring fanboys."

Theodore raised his wand so quickly that Alaw didn't even have time to react before a jinx flashed towards her. She flinched, but the spell didn't hit her. Instead, it bounced off her invisible shield and hit Theodore squarely in the chest. He went flying backwards and hit the Ravenclaw table before landing smack on his backside. To complete the picture, a bowl of cereal toppled off the table and coated him from head to foot in milk. Alaw, and many other people in the vicinity, burst out laughing.

"What is all this noise?" asked Snape as he swooped down on them all. Theodore leaped to his feet.

"Jones attacked me, sir!" he cried angrily and Snape raised an eyebrow at Alaw.

"Miss Jones?" he prompted and Alaw rolled her eyes.

"Yeah sure, why not," she said boredly. Snape gazed at her coldly for a few seconds before waving his wand at Theodore. The milk and cornflakes disappeared from his robes but they still remained a little damp.

"Return to your seats," he told the boys before turning to Alaw. "Detention, Miss Jones. Seven o'clock, my office."

He thrust her new timetable at her and she accepted it without comment. As Theodore and his cronies returned to their breakfast they threw her dirty looks. Snape waited until they were gone before cocking his head.

"How did you maintain a shield without him noticing?"

Alaw, who was routing through her bag for her planner, absently showed Snape the necklace she wore. There was a small silver dragon dangling from it with it's tail wrapped around a garnet.

"The stone has a mild repelling charm on it," she explained, opening her planner and jotting down the time of her detention. Snape nodded.

"I should imagine it doesn't have a very long life," he said and Alaw nodded, now gazing at the pendant with a slight frown on her face.

"Yeah, it's starting to die. I should really find a way to renew the spell."

As Snape swept away, Alaw packed up her things, grabbed a piece of toast, and left the Great Hall before anything else could happen.

Her first lesson of the day was Defence Against the Dark Arts and after everything Sirius had said about her the previous evening, Alaw was curious to meet this Professor Umbridge. When the third years entered the classroom which until recently had belonged to Professor Lupin, they found Umbridge already seated at the teacher's desk. They all gazed wearily at her as they sat down and once all the rustling had stopped, she spoke up.

"Good morning, class."

There were a few mumbles in reply and Umbridge tutted.

"Now, now. When you are greeted, I would like you all to say, 'good morning, Professor Umbridge'. So, good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge," the students recited, many exchanging perturbed looks at being spoken to like a bunch of primary school children. Umbridge withdrew a sheet of parchment from the file in front of her.

"Now then, I noticed you all took your seats without delay, but I have devised a new seating plan to optimise efficiency within this classroom. So, Miss Parkinson? I would like you to sit here, please. And Mr Zabini, you may go beside her."

As she continued her list there was a collective bristle around the room. So, she was one of those teachers, was she? Umbridge had arranged them all in a strict boy-girl fashion and Alaw's feeling that she was back in nursery increased. When Umbridge arrived her her name, she smiled sweetly across the room at her.

"Miss Jones, you may sit right here."

She indicated the table right in front of the teacher's desk, between Seamus and Crabbe, and with Theodore sat directly behind her. With a muted sigh, Alaw collected her things and carried them to the front of the class. Theodore sneered at her as she passed and Alaw knew she could expect a lot of pencils to the back of the head for the rest of the year. When they were all rearranged to her satisfaction, Umbridge returned to the teacher's desk.

"Wands away and quills out. I have had a glance at your performance records from your first two years studying this subject and I must say, some of you are lagging behind." She glanced pointedly at a few students, including Alaw. "And this will not do now that you have entered your N.E.W.T years. Whereas my predecessor may have allowed you some slack, I shall not be so indulgent. So we shall be starting from scratch."

She tapped her wand on the blackboard and words appeared there in chalk. The headline read, ' _Course Aims_ '.

"I would like you all please to copy down the course aims, and then to turn to chapter one of _Defensive Magical Theory_ and read _Basics for Beginners_. There will be no need to talk."

Alaw cocked her head and pulled a face as she read the course aims. She then shared a dark look with Hermione who sat on Seamus' other side.

 _Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

 _Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic may be legally used._

 _Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

As Alaw noted these points down in her exercise book she had to suppress a snort of contempt. They had already covered all these points with Professor Lupin in first year. He had gone over the legality of jinxes and hexes with them in their very first week of school. But now the Ministry wanted to jam it down their throats again? Alaw's mood did not improve has she opened the Slinkhard book and started to read the first chapter. The work was sloppy and the language juvenile, so Alaw only kept sparse notes. It only took a couple of minutes for her to notice that Hermione had her hand up. Professor Umbridge was writing something at her desk and appeared not to have noticed Hermione, even though a number of people were now watching her instead of working.

"Professor?" Hermione prompted after she'd been ignored for a further couple of minutes. Umbridge looked up and fixed Hermione with an appraising stare.

"Yes, dear. Did you have something you'd like to ask?"

"Yes," said Hermione. _Obviously_ , thought Alaw. "I'm curious about the course aims. I thought this year we'd be learning N.E.W.T standard spells, but I don't see anything about practical lessons on the board."

Umbridge smiled sweetly at Hermione even as the rest of the class turned their heads to re-examine the blackboard.

"It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all, is what school is all about."

There were many sounds of consternation from the class at this statement and Ron spoke up, angrily,

"We're not going to do any magic at all?! But I thought we had to show we could do all the countercurses in the exams!"

"Students will raise their hands when they wish to speak in this class," said Umbridge blandly. Ron thrust his hand into the air and she turned away from him. But several other hands had shot up too.

"And your name is?" Umbridge asked, looking at Daphne.

"Daphne Greengrass. And Ron's right, we do have to perform the spells in the exams. Are you honestly telling us that the first time we'll even do the magic will be in front of the examiners?!"

"As I have said, if you have studied the theory properly, you should have no trouble performing the magic in a carefully controlled, risk free, environment. And you are?"

"Dean Thomas," said Dean. "And what the hell would be the point of that?! We're supposed to be learning how to defend ourselves! If we get attacked, it won't be risk free!"

"Attacked?" Umbridge laughed. "And who do you think is going to attack you, Mr Thomas? Do you believe there are dark wizards hiding around every corner?"

Umbridge kept her eyes on Dean but Alaw felt the gaze of every other person in the room turn on her. She stayed silent, she wasn't going to be drawn into a shouting match with this moronic woman. Ron, however, was less restrained.

"Well, You-Know-Who might quite like to have a pop at us!"

There was a very tense silence as Umbridge cocked her head at Ron.

"The Dark Lord is dead, Mr Weasley," she said calmly. "He had been dead these past twenty years."

"No, he isn't!" said Ron hotly. "Alaw saw him! He's back!"

"Ron!" Alaw hissed sharply. "Shut up!"

"But -"

Alaw gave Ron a hard look and he shut his mouth, scowling at Umbridge and crossing his arms. Umbridge gave a smug little smile and then addressed the class as a whole.

"Now then, I would like to make something quite clear. You have all been told that a certain Dark Lord has returned from the dead. This. Is. A. lie. Now, if any of you are being frightened by people telling you such fibs, I would like you to come to me with your concerns."

Alaw was shaking her head slowly and giving Umbridge the dirtiest look she could muster. It was very difficult to hold her tongue but she forced herself to keep her temper. Blowing up at a Ministry representative in front of all her classmates would only seal her reputation as a nutjob. Umbridge was now looking directly at her.

"Did you have something you would like to say, dear?" she asked and Alaw ground her teeth. Perhaps one little jab.

"Fine, Voldemort's back. Happy now?"

There were mutters and small gasps at the sound of the name and Seamus glanced disdainfully at Alaw. Umbridge did not flinch. Instead, she smiled and returned to the teacher's desk. She wrote something on a piece of pink parchment, folded it up carefully, and sealed it with her wand.

"Come here, Miss Jones," she said and Alaw rose from her seat. "I would like you to take this to Professor Snape."

Alaw took the letter without comment and glared at Umbridge. None of the rest of the class said a word as she packed up her things and tried to walk, rather than stomp, to the door. Once she had put a couple of floors between herself and the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, Alaw stopped and chewed her lip. She turned the pink letter over in her hands a couple of times. She would have liked to read it before delivering to Snape, but she knew that tampering with Umbridge's sealing spell would be foolish. With a huff, Alaw set off again down the marble staircase. She didn't meet anyone on her journey to the dungeons for which she was thankful; one more blatant stare might just push her to hex someone. Snape wasn't teaching in his lab so Alaw continued on down the subterranean corridor towards his office. She took a deep breath before knocking three times.

"Enter," called Snape from the other side.

Alaw opened the door and Snape looked up from his desk where he was writing something. Alaw had never actually been in her head of house's office before. The window looked out into the depths of the lake, just like the one's in the Slytherin common room, and the rest of the walls were covered in shelves of potions ingredients. Slimy insects and fish floated in different coloured liquids.

"What do you want, Jones?" Snape asked, coldly.

"I've been sent to see you," Alaw said, holding out the pink letter. "By Professor Umbridge."

Snape's expression remained neutral as he set his quill aside and took the letter from Alaw. She stood almost to attention a foot in front of his desk as he unsealed the letter with his wand and read it's contents. Once his dark eyes were done flitting from one side of the page to the other, he looked up at her.

"Professor Umbridge has given you a detention for every night this week. Until Friday," he informed her. Alaw grimaced and allowed herself a small groan of annoyance before asking,

"Okay, would you like to reschedule our detention, sir? It was meant to be tonight, but I can do it next Monday if you prefer."

"Don't be clever with me, Jones. What did you do to earn yourself five nights of detention?"

Alaw shrugged.

"She told the class that Voldemort wasn't back, she desperately wanted me to contradict her, so I did. Calmly. I didn't shout it from the rooftops or anything."

Snape held her gaze for a moment, as if he was trying to detect a lie, but Alaw looked back at him dispassionately. After a pause, Snape folded up the letter and put it away in his desk drawer.

"You will go to Professor Umbridge's office this evening at five o'clock. I would advise you not to engage her in conversation, and if she bates you again, don't rise to it. You will serve your detention with me next Monday at seven. That will be all."

Alaw nodded and turned to go, but she paused, and then faced the desk again.

"Did you know she's not going to teach us any real magic?"

Snape, who had returned to his notes, nodded, and the shadow of a scowl crossed his features.

"I have heard. Professor Umbridge was discussing her new _curriculum_ in the staff room last night."

Alaw folded her arms and tapped her finger rapidly, as she always did when irritated.

"I wanted to apply for a Curse Breaker apprenticeship at Gringott's next year," she said, watching Snape carefully. "They're not going to accept someone who doesn't know any N.E.W.T Defence."

Snape glanced up at her briefly.

"You'll forgive me for saying, Jones, but your Defence grades from first and second year will count against you far more than any damage that woman will do. You were only ever a middling offensive spellcaster."

Alaw bristled at his harsh assessment and replied in a cold voice,

"I was going to work on bringing my grade up this year. Anyway, that's beside the point. What I'm saying is, I won't be the only one pissed off that their career prospects are on the line. You'll have some angry Slytherins at your door before the end of the week, I guarantee it. Blaise wants to be an Unspeakable and Millicent is looking at joining the Law Enforcement Squad. They are not going to be happy about this."

Snape did not look up from his papers again and merely waved a hand towards the door.

"Thank you for the dire warning, Miss Jones. Now please leave me be, I have a lot of work to do."

Alaw did not return to Defence Against the Dark Arts after leaving Snape's office, despite the fact that there was still half an hour of the lesson to go. Instead, she sat in the library reading through past papers for N.E.W.T Defence. It was as she suspected. They wouldn't have a prayer of performing the counter-curses expected of them in the exams without practicing them before hand. They desperately needed someone to show them the proper spells.

At lunch time she donned the invisibility cloak and ventured down to the Great Hall. She resisted the urge to load up her bag with chicken and ham sandwiches and sat down among the Gryffindors to hear what they were talking about. News about the Defence class had spread quickly it seemed. Most people were furious at the terrible new curriculum and Alaw was pleased to hear many people say they would be writing to their parents about it and complaining to Professor McGonagall. Over at the Ravenclaw table, the Prefects Padma and Anthony, and been joined by their Hufflepuff counterparts and were devising a plan to bring their concerns directly to the headmaster, and Susan Bones was declaring that she would write a stiff letter of complaint to her aunt that evening.

Alaw was less pleased to hear people's thoughts on her 'outburst', as they were calling it.

"Said she saw You-Know-Who."

"Still banging on about that is she? Crazy cow."

"Weasley says she dueled with the Dark Lord. Complete nutter that one."

After eating, Alaw dejectedly left the Great Hall and went up the History of Magic classroom. She was the first person there and Professor Binns, their only ghost teacher, didn't even notice her sit down. It was common consent that Binns was an appallingly bad teacher, that the material he was teaching them was outdated by several decades, and that his voice was so boring that it could put an entire class to sleep in ten minutes flat. But, Alaw needed an N.E.W.T in History if she wanted to become a Curse Breaker one day, so she just had to suck it up.

There were only three other people taking History that year and they joined her just as the bell rang. Hermione, Ernie and Draco all sat down around her - Draco carefully not looking at her. Pretending she didn't exist seemed to be his strategy of choice and, though depressing, Alaw went along with it.

"Hey, are you alright?" Hermione murmured to Alaw as Binns began his lecture. Today's material, land reform acts of the seventeenth century.

"Of course, but I have been given detention every day this week."

Ernie and Hermione looked at her in shock and Ernie shook his head angrily.

"But you barely said anything! Other people said a lot more, you were just telling her what she wanted to hear."

"Exactly, she wanted to give me detention. Don't worry, I'll just have to endure this week and then I'll keep my mouth shut around her. That's what Snape told me to do."

The thing about Professor Binns' classes was that it was incredibly easy to carry out whole conversations without him ever looking up from his notes. However, all four of them were Prefects and they had elected to do this class, so they forced themselves to pay attention for the rest of the lesson. By the end, Alaw felt like smacking herself in the forehead with _A History of Magic._

"Great, so that's two N.E. we're going to fail," she grouched as they left the classroom. Ernie groaned.

"I know, it's awful. Look, why don't we just turn this period into a study group instead? We can teach ourselves the coursework and Binns won't mind, I doubt he'd even notice!" suggested Earnie.

It was agreed and they parted ways, Ernie heading off for Muggle Studies and Draco going in the direction of the library.

At five o'clock that evening, Alaw ventured up to Umbridge's office, took a deep breath, and knocked three times.

"Come in," called Umbridge sweetly and Alaw entered the room.

She saw that Umbridge had wasted no time in making the office her own. The stone walls had been painted pastel pink, and every surface was covered in fussy little doilies and bowls of potpourri. The sickly smell hung in the air and Alaw wrinkled her nose slightly. Behind the desk there hung a series of china plates, each decorated with a picture of kitten. Umbridge herself was sat at the desk with her hands folded neatly in front of her.

"Good evening, Miss Jones," she said, smiling widely at Alaw.

"Good evening," Alaw replied reservedly. She caught sight of a small desk and a straight-backed wooden chair over by the window. There was a quill and a piece of parchment waiting for her.

"Take a seat, dear," said Umbridge, indicating the chair. "You're going to be doing some lines for me."

Alaw was a little surprised, she had expected to have to do something far worse, but she sat down without comment. She started rummaging around in her bag but looked up when Umbridge asked,

"What are you doing, dear?"

"I'm just getting some ink," said Alaw and Umbridge smiled wider than ever.

"Oh, you won't need any ink. This is a rather special quill of mine. Now then, I would like you to write, 'I must not tell lies'."

The two witches gazed at each other and Alaw pursed her lips before asking, politely,

"How many times?"

"Well, let's say… until the message has sunk in."

A lot of times, then, Alaw thought bitterly. She picked up the quill which was thin and black, with a sharp silver nib, and placed it to the parchment. This wasn't so bad. Petty as fuck, but really, if this was the best punishment Umbridge could come up with, Alaw felt she'd worried about nothing. The quill was evidently self-inking like a muggle ball-point pen and the words appeared on the page in shiny red. After Alaw had written out the line five times however, she started to feel a itch on the back of her hand. She put the quill in her other hand for a moment to flex her fingers but the itch only got worse, so she dropped the quill all together to scratch.

"Ah!" she gasped as her skin stung and real pain shot through her. She watched in horror as tiny little cuts began to appear on the back of her left hand. _I must not tell lies._ She looked up at Umbridge and found the toad-like woman watching her closely.

"Is there a problem, dear?" she asked, in a syrupy voice.

"You sick fuck!" Alaw cried, leaping out of her chair and snatching up her bag.

Umbridge didn't say a word as Alaw marched out of the office and slammed the door behind her. Alaw sprinted down the corridor, ducking into a secret passage behind a suit of armour at the end and taking the spiral staircase down. On the first floor, Alaw stopped to lean against a wall, panting. Her heart was hammering inside her chest and she raised her hand to examine the cuts. But she found that the words had faded away, only leaving her skin red and irritated.

"Crazy, evil, bitch!" she muttered under her breath, turning her hand this way and that.

She couldn't believe that a teacher, a ministry official no less, would use such a dark object on a student! How could she be so brazen? Alaw stood up straight and looked up and down the corridor, fiddling with the strap of her bag and worrying her bottom lip. She had to tell someone, but who? Dumbledore might refuse to see her and besides, she didn't know the new password to his tower. McGonagall would listen for sure, but the head of Gryffindor would likely march up to Umbridge's office and curse old hag without a second thought. That left Snape. Yes, it made more sense to tell her own head of house. He might not have been Alaw's biggest fan, but he was in the best position to do something about this.

With dinner approaching the corridors were full of students and teachers on the march so Alaw quickly pulled on the invisibility cloak and used the backstairs to make her way down to the dungeons. A group of Slytherins that included Theodore and Draco were passing Snape's office when Alaw arrived in the corridor and she flattened herself against the wall to avoid bumping into any of them. She waited until they'd turned on the stairs before pulling off the cloak, stuffing it back in her bag and knocking urgently on the office door. The door opened and Snape appeared. He frowned down at Alaw and took in her distressed appearance and then stepped back to allow her entry to his rooms.

"What has happened?" he asked without preamble, closing the door behind her.

"I was just in my detention with Umbridge when she told me to write some lines," Alaw began.

She quickly outlined the events of the evening and Snape listened with a stony expression. When she was done he gestured to her hand.

"Let me see," he said but Alaw shook her head.

"The cuts healed on the way down here. Now it just looks like a rash."

Snape drew up a couple of chairs by the desk and clicked at Alaw to sit down, which she did. He sat opposite her and took her hand in his, examining the angry skin with a critical eye. He waved his wand over her hand a few times and muttered incantations under his breath, not looking up at Alaw for about a minute.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked eventually, releasing her.

"No, it itches though."

"Don't scratch it. I am not familiar with the implement you described, but there are clear signs of dark magic in your skin. Don't worry, it's minor and should fade away by tomorrow, but I'll give you a salve to stop it from getting infected."

Alaw cradled her hand against her chest.

"She's evil," she muttered. "Twisted. Did you know she was like this, sir?"

Snape's mouth twisted and he avoided Alaw's gaze.

"I had heard rumours," he admitted quietly. "But I didn't credit them until now. This is - disturbing. I doubt very much that the Ministry gave her permission to use such a tool on students."

"What should I do?" Alaw asked. Snape's eyes narrowed in thought and he stood up to pace the office. Alaw watched his progress wearily.

"For now, do nothing," he said eventually. "Do not go back to your detentions, act as if nothing has happened. Let us see how she will react. I suspect she will leave you be unless you stir up trouble."

Alaw didn't speak as she considered this proposal. It seemed the most sensible course of action, but the thought of letting Umbridge get away with this rankled.

"There's nothing we can do to get her, is there?" Alaw asked bitterly and Snape shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I imagine that the scars would become permanent if you continued your punishment, but even if you were willing to do that, you would have no proof that Umbridge forced you to do it."

"Nah, she'd probably just say I was an attention seeking little shit who did it to myself. And I suppose nicking the quill wouldn't do any good either because there'd be no proof it belonged to her. Hell, even dragging the Aurors up to her office and showing them the quill in her drawer wouldn't be enough, she'd just say it'd been planted!"

Alaw sat back in her chair and folded her arms angrily.

"This sucks!" she snarled. Snape ignored her scowl and picked up an empty flask from a nearby shelf. He moved around the office, selecting jars and boxes, adding pinches of this and that to the flask and swirling the contents before handing it to Alaw.

"Apply that as needed, the swelling should fade away soon."

Alaw screwed the lid shut because the potion was not pleasant to the nostrils before asking,

"Should I tell Professor Dumbledore?"

"I will pass on the information to Albus. He isn't exactly thrilled with you at the moment," said Snape, giving her a stern look as Alaw repressed a snort. There was a pause and then a worrying thought occurred to Alaw.

"Sir," she said slowly. "You don't think - you don't think Umbridge might be working for - uh - the Dark Lord? Could she be a Death Eater?"

To her surprise, Snape gave a bark of laughter.

"Dolores Umbridge is most certainly not a Death Eater," he said firmly. "You must understand, Jones, that evil can take many forms. This time it's pink."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

 **Hard Lessons**

"That evil old hag!" Ron hissed the following morning, when Alaw told him, Neville and Hermione what had happened during her detention with Umbridge.

The four of them were standing under a balcony in the corner of the Transfiguarion courtyard whilst mild drizzle dripped down on them. Ron was shaking his head, swearing under his breath and Hermione looked utterly appalled.

"You have to report her!" she cried. "You have to go to Dumbledore right away! She can't do this!"

Alaw looked out into the rain and watched a couple of people sprint across the courtyard, their cloaks pulled up over their heads.

"Snape said he'd speak to Dumbledore for me," she said. "And I'm going to leave it at that."

Hermione made a noise of protest and Neville said,

"Bloody hell Al, the woman tried to torture you! With dark magic, we have to do something."

"And I will, but not right now and not directly. Don't you get it? Nothing I say will make a jot of difference, no one will believe me. We have to be clever about this, that's what Snape said."

Ron finally found his voice again.

"You're taking Snape's advice?" he asked, disgusted.

"Yes I am, he knows what he's talking about," said Alaw, firmly. "Don't worry, I'll get Umbridge back just as surely as I'll get Theodore and his gang of baby Death Eaters. The best thing we can do now is concentrate of setting up the Flames. Speaking of which, where are we on finding somewhere as a headquarters?"

The other three looked at each other and Hermione sighed,

"We haven't found anywhere so far. That mirror Sirius told us about has been caved in since his day so that's no good to us. The problem is, we just can't think of anywhere Dumbledore wouldn't know about."

Alaw pursed her lips and then glanced down at her watch.

"Come on, we've got Charms now. We'll keep trying to find somewhere, I've got loads of ideas on how to bring Voldemort down a peg or two."

Though they clearly weren't happy about it, Alaw's friends did not try and persuade her to report Umbridge again. For the rest of the week they kept their heads down and tried not to draw the attention of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Umbridge, for her part, didn't bother any of them either. She smirked at Alaw whenever they passed in the corridors but otherwise made no comment on the detention, nor did she try and force Alaw to attend any more. It was as if nothing had happened, just as Snape had predicted. Alaw wondered if Snape had indeed spoken to Dumbledore about the blood quill. The only time she saw the headmaster was at meal times but he never once glanced her way. Though to be fair, Alaw always went to the Great Hall under the cloak so there was no way for Dumbledore to know she was there anyway.

She had plenty to occupy herself in the meantime without worrying about Dumbledore or Umbridge. Their lessons this year were a lot more demanding than they were used to and Professor Flitwick caused a stir in his first class when he announced they would be studying healing magic that year.

"Now, this requires a little discomfort on your parts I'm afraid, so I hope none of you are squeamish," he warned, holding up a small sewing needle.

They had each been given an identical needle and Flitwick had them all prick their own thumbs so they could practice a simple spell to seal lesions. There was quite a bit of wincing and cries of pain during this lesson and Flitwick walked among them to ensure that no mishaps occurred. Alaw glanced uneasily at Hermione before pressing the tip of her needle into her skin. She screwed up her eyes as she drew a dribble of blood. Then she gingerly pointed her wand at the tiny wound.

" _Conprimo_ ," she said.

Professor Flitwick had called it a simple charm, but there was nothing simple about casting it. Alaw was generally good at charms, it was her best subject, but she struggled with this more difficult branch of magic. Even Hermione was having difficulties, though things improved once the girls swallowed their pride and asked Professor Flitwick to demonstrate the charm for them again. Alaw had just managed the stem the bleeding, if not entirely close her cut, when across the room they heard,

"Well done Mr Malfoy, five points to Slytherin."

Alaw looked over and saw Professor Flitwick straighten up after examining Draco's now completely healed hand. Draco was looking a little smug and Alaw rolled her eyes before returning to her own work.

"Show off," she muttered.

By the end of the lesson she had managed to perform the spell and Flitwick made sure they were all cleaned up before letting them go.

"Now remember, I don't want any of you practising that spell alone," he said sharply. "The head boy and girl are going to organise some group study sessions so you can all have a chance and I'm counting on the Prefects to help them as much as possible."

He looked pointedly at Alaw and her fellow Prefects and Alaw had to repress a grimace. Of course, she would have Prefect duties this year on top of all her other work. What was worse, she'd be forced to spend at least some time with Draco, which scuppered her plans for pretending he no longer existed.

The problem was, she and Draco shared many of the same classes, Charms, History, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Draco wasn't taking Ancient Runes though and it was a relief for Alaw to sit down and see that there were relatively few people proceeding with the N.E.W.T. Hermione wasn't with her for a change, as she had elected to focus on her Arithmancy instead, so Alaw, after making some quick risk assessments, chose to sit between Daphne and Millicent. The only other Slytherin present was Blaise, and she knew for a fact that he never spoke to Theodore if he could help it, though he was distantly cordial with Draco.

The other members of the class were Ravenclaws and they threw Alaw the suspicious looks she had come to expect from the general population of the school. However, none of them were likely to tell Theodore that she was talking to her fellow Slytherins. Professor Babbling began the lesson by handing each of them a plain, flat rock, and a small chisel.

"It's finally time to start work on wards," she told them, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. She was a dotty older witch who had slightly mad eyes, but she was well liked among the students. "It's the most useful thing you'll learn in this class, and the skill you'll most likely use the most once you leave school. You've all learned how to protect your belongings with conventional magic, but wards stones are stronger and more durable in the long-run. Every spell cast with a wand alone fades, but a well laid ward stone will last far beyond the caster's lifetime, if properly maintained. Now then, if you could all gather up your things, we're going on a little trip."

The class glanced at each other, startled, but did as they were told. After collecting their belongings, they followed Professor Babbling out of the classroom and down to the Entrance Hall.

"We're heading out here," she said, indicating the front doors and there were more dubious looks shared.

"But it's raining," Blaise complained but Professor Babbling just threw open the doors and strode out into the downpour.

"Come on, a little rain never hurt anyone!" she called cheerily.

Grumbling, the class followed, drawing up their hoods and casting rain repelling charms.

"Where are we going?" Millicent asked as they slipped and slid their way across the muddy front lawn, struggling to keep up with the Professor's energetic strides.

"To the boundary, I'm going to show you where the ward stones around the castle are situated. Oh and that reminds me, no magic if you please. It'll interfere with the lesson."

They all groaned in unison as they lowered their wands and extinguished their Impervious Charms. They were heading towards the front gates, flanked by the winged boars, but instead of going through them and continuing on the path to Hogsmead, Professor Babbling took them left and they walked along the twenty foot high boundary wall.

"Parts of the wall date back to the Founders time," Professor Babbling explained, now feeling her way along the stones. "One of the only parts of the castle that still does. I'd like you all to reach out and touch the wall, and see if you can feel the magic woven into it."

They did as they were told but all Alaw could feel to begin with was wet rock beneath her fingers. They all stood silent and still, the rain dribbling down their backs, trying to detect the traces of magic Professor Babbling had described. Alaw was sure she wasn't the only one who felt foolish.

"It tingles," said Blaise after they all been quiet for a long while.

"Exactly right," said Professor Babbling approvingly. "You could always cast a detect magic spell of course, but I think all witches and wizards should learn to sense charms with their bare skin alone."

Alaw pressed her hand more firmly to the stone but still couldn't feel anything. A quick glance at Daphne and Millicent confirmed that they hadn't either.

"It takes quite a bit of practice," Babbling conceded. "But some wizards learn to tell all sorts of things from touch alone, like how old a spell it, how powerful the caster was, and even the type of spell. But that isn't what we're learning today, today I wanted to show you this. Come on chaps."

Babbling continued on their way and the class followed wearily. None of them were wearing appropriate shoes for sloshing through the mud and Millicent suddenly slipped. Alaw and Daphne, who were closest to her, grabbed an arm each to save her from a nasty fall.

"Thanks," Millicent muttered, avoiding Alaw's gaze and shaking her off rather quickly. Alaw glanced at Blaise but he merely smirked and looked away.

About five minutes after this, when they were approaching the place where the wall crumbled away and the Forbidden Forest began, Alaw finally felt something. It began as a tingling sensation in the tips of her fingers, and grew to be more like pins and needles. Soon, it felt like her whole body was throbbing, like she was in a club and heavy base music was playing, except the only sounds she could hear were the pattering of the rain and the wind in the trees.

"What the hell is that?" she asked, rubbing her chest at the strange sensation. It didn't hurt, not like it did when Voldemort was nearby, but it was bizarre.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is a ward stone," said Professor Babbling, stopping and turning to face her gaggle of students. "Right here, almost below your feet. It, and it's six sisters, were buried here by the Founders themselves. Each new Headmaster or Headmistress must visit the stones and strengthen the spells woven into them. There's a legend that the stones are even older than that, that the Founders discovered a standing circle here and decided to repurpose the stones. But there's no evidence to support that. Many myths and legends spring up around places as old as Hogwarts."

They only stayed there to discuss the wards a little longer as the constant rhythmic thumping their chests was beginning to make the students feel nauseous. Professor Babbling explained that the wards around Hogwarts were exceptionally powerful, and that stones placed around normal wizarding dwellings, at the boundary, corner stones, mantle and door post, did not have such an effect. Unless they were meant to of course. Babbling told them all of an old aunt of hers who, after being jilted by a fainthearted wizard, had charmed all her ward stones to make any man who was not pure of heart violently sick if they came too close. No man ever came close to the house though so the family wondered how specific the 'pure of heart' part really was.

Alaw thought back to last June, and the last time she and Dumbledore had really spoken. It was just after Voldemort had returned and Alaw had expressed concern for her family's safety. It wouldn't have been difficult for Voldemort to send his Death Eaters to find her home address at the Ministry. So, Alaw and Dumbledore had travelled to Cefn-Y-Bedd and the headmaster had laid down some 'blood wards', as he called them. Four stones buried at the cardinal points, carved with runes and splashed with Alaw's blood. Only people who shared Alaw's blood would be able to enter the house. Dumbledore had also cast some mild Notice-Me-Not charms around the permimiter, so that only those who knew of the house's existence would be able to see it. Any casual observer would find their eyes sliding disinterestedly away.

Alaw was hoping to master warding runes quickly so she could add her own protections to Cefn-Y-Bedd, and to Emrys' territory out in the forest. It was powerful, useful magic to know. The small stones Babbling had given them were to be their projects for the term, though she promised them she had plenty to spare for when they all, inevitably, messed up the carvings and needed to start fresh.

With all the new information and projects they had been set, Alaw and her friends were quite exhausted by Friday, but they still had Care of Magical Creatures before they could relax for the weekend. It wasn't raining as they beat the familiar path down to Hagrid's Hut, but the ground was soggy and they took care not to slip on the grass. When they arrived at the hut they found Professor Grubbly-Plank waiting for them.

"Alright chaps, you all need to follow me, we're heading to the lake today," she said once the twenty or so students were gathered around her.

She set off at a brisk pace and Alaw took the opportunity to peer at who they were sharing this class with. It appeared that Theodore and Draco had dropped the subject, for which she was grateful, but Crabbe and Goyle were lumbering along in Grubbly-Plank's wake. They rounded the lake until they came to a jetty that stretched quite far over the water.

"Step carefully, I'd rather not have to fish anyone out today," said Grubbly-Plank, her boots thumping on the jetty as she walked purposefully to the very end.

It was only when they had caught up with her that Alaw realised there was someone waiting for them. A green skinned mermaid was leaning against the jetty, her long, powerful tail swished idly back at forth in the water behind her. Alaw had never met a mermaid before, and she had only ever seen pictures in her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The woman had long, green hair that resembled seaweed, and piercing yellow eyes that she turned on the students. She gave them all a dismissive nod and then said something to Grubble-Plank. Or at least, Alaw assumed she said something, though it sounded more like a high-pitched shriek than a language. Grubbly-Plank replied in the same fashion and then switched to English for the benefit of the students.

"This term we'll be studying aquatic creatures, and Barrairgid here has kindly agreed to help."

She nodded to the mermaid who promptly disappeared below the water's surface. She wasn't gone long though, and when she returned she was holding a rope woven from kelp, and something was moving deeper in the water. Grubbly-Plank waved her wand a bubble of water rose out of the lake beside the mermaid. Beneath the shimmering surface, the students saw a sickly green creature with short horns and several tentacles. A Grindylow. It swam around and around in it's bubble, baring it's teeth at the students and making strange little gurgling sounds. Many of the students sniggered.

"Now then, I hope you all know that this is a Grindelow, even if you've never seen one with your own eyes," Grubbly-Plank began. "This particular chappie belongs to Barrairgid's family. Merfolk are the only people to have tamed these little blighters, they are quite dangerous to wizards, witches and muggles alike. They have a nasty habit of snatching children who play at the water's edge. They prefer colder climates so Scotland suits them quite well, but does anyone know where the largest population in the UK is?"

Hermione put up her hand and Grubbly-Plank looked at her expectantly.

"Yorkshire, Professor, that's where the name comes from."

"Correct, take five points for Gryffindor."

Grubbly-Plank continued to tell them about the habits of Grindylows and Alaw tried to listen, but she was distracted by Crabbe and Goyle who was talking in low voices behind her and sniggering. Suspecting they were planning to push her into the lake, she moved subtly closer to Ron so she could grab him and save herself if need be.

"Wonder if Hagrid was planning to teach us this stuff," Ron mused quietly and Alaw shrugged.

"Probably. I wonder when he'll be back."

Behind them, Crabbe and Goyle sniggered louder than ever and Ron frowned over his shoulder at them.

"What?" he snapped and the pair grinned smugly.

"Nothing," Crabbe sneered. "Theodore said you lot wouldn't have a clue what's going on. He'll be happy to hear he was right."

Alaw prodded Ron in the back to make him turn away from the Slytherins but then Goyle hissed at them in a low voice,

"You really don't know do you? You haven't heard what's happened to that idiot mongrel?"

Alaw felt an unpleasant prickle down her spine and she turned to look at Goyle, in spite of herself.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully. There was a spiteful look on his face.

"Been messing with things that are too big for him hasn't he?"

Alaw schooled her expression and instead studied Goyle's to see if he was lying.

"Are you paying attention back there?" Grubbly-Plank called and Alaw jumped, turning back to the Grindylow.

"Yes, sorry Professor."

She let Grubbly-Plank continue with her lecture for a minute or so before leaning towards Hermione and muttering,

"What do you reckon? Is he just bullshitting us?"

"Of course he is, it's Crabbe and Goyle! What do they know?" Hermione replied scathingly. She had a point, Crabbe and Goyle may have their Dark Marks, but they were very junior in Voldemort's operation and thicker than pea soup to boot. It was unlikely they knew anything important. But - Hagrid had been sent to negotiate with the giants, it wasn't impossible that Crabbe and Goyle had heard something about his fate via their fathers and uncles, something the Order may not know yet. Alaw resolved to ask Sirius about it the next time they Mirror-Skyped.

* * *

After such a busy and stressful week, it was a relief for Alaw to don the invisibility cloak and stroll across the lawn to the Forbidden Forest on Saturday morning. The bad weather had finally petered out and she picked her way through the trees with faint sunlight shining down on her. The forest was full of activity that morning, birds twittered in the branches and Alaw could hear frantic rustling in the undergrowth as her passage disturbed mice and rabbits.

Emrys was methodically cleaning his scales when she arrived at his den and he only grunted to acknowledge her, intent as he was on getting at a particularly tricky spot on his rump.

" _Good morning to you too_ ," Alaw snorted, taking off the cloak and putting it and her bag down on a nearby boulder. " _I don't see you all week and that's all the greeting I get? I almost don't think you deserve this_."

She tugged a whole chicken, covered in a cheque cloth, out of her bag and Emrys immediately perked up. Alaw threw it into the air and he caught it deftly in his powerful jaws. As Emrys began to chomp away at the meat, Alaw sat herself in her usual spot, on the lip of the cave with her legs dangling over the edge. She also brought a flask of orange juice and some sandwiches for herself and as she munched on this, she gazed out over the lake. She thought she could see a disturbance in the water in the distance, perhaps the Giant Squid out for a swim.

" _You smell stressed_ ," Emrys commented once he'd finished eating and was licking his claws clean. Alaw looked down at him in surprise.

" _Do I?_ "

Emrys lifted his head and fixed with his yellow gaze.

" _There's bad magic in your scales. I can smell it_." He lifted himself onto his back legs and bumped his snout against her hand. " _Here_."

Alaw flexed her fingers. The rash left behind from her detention with Umbridge had faded away by now and the ointment Snape had given her had worked well to sooth the itching.

" _Is it bad?_ " she asked grimly and Emrys gave a yip which Alaw understood to mean, 'no', but then he lifted his head and nudged her chest.

" _Here too, very bad magic._ "

Alaw frowned and put a hand to her heart. It wasn't currently hurting, though it did twinge an awful lot at night, so much so that Alaw needed to take painkilling potions just to get some sleep. Even when she did manage to drift off, her dreams were filled with muffled voices and lights, and a long corridor ending in a locked door. She dreamed of that almost every night and she was sure it came from Voldemort's mind, not her own. What was so special about that damn corridor? Alaw sighed and scratched Emrys under his chin.

" _Do you remember the man who captured me a few months ago? The man on the mountain? Well, when he's nearby, or when I dream about him, my chest hurts. I don't know why._ "

" _We should go and kill him_ ," said Emrys at once and Alaw smiled. Dragons were ever so straightforward. If one had an enemy, you burned him to a crisp, simple as that.

" _I don't know where he is right now. And he's dangerous, I wouldn't stand a change. I'd be dead before I even got close_."

Emrys sniffed discontentedly and hopped back down to the mouth of the cave. After curling up he lifted his head to keep talking.

" _You smell stressed_ ," he said again, sounding reproachful now, like a scolding mother. " _When is your mate coming back? He could help."_

Alaw had been about to take a bite of her sandwich but she lowered it to frowned down at Emrys.

" _My mate?_ " she repeated flatly and Emrys blinked.

" _The male with the yellow hair. He made you happy, he should come back_."

A great lump developed in Alaw's throat which she did her best to swallow so she could answer normally.

" _Draco - he - he wasn't my mate, and we're not friends anymore either. We can't be_."

The dragon cocked his head to the side, rather like a bird.

" _Why?_ " he asked, obviously very confused. " _He wanted to mate with you, and you wanted him_."

" _Emrys!_ " Alaw cried and she felt her cheeks grown hot. It was ridiculous, a dragon should not have been able to make her blush. " _Don't say things like that! That's not how it works for humans, it's more complicated that just liking each other. Draco and I can't even talk to each other anymore. He - well he'd be in danger if people saw us. Voldemort would hurt him, or even kill him!"_

But Emrys clearly didn't understand became he snorted and scratched the ground in front of him irritably.

" _Draco made you happy,_ " he said stubbornly and Alaw's shoulders slumped.

There was no point trying to explain the complicated politics to Emrys. He was a very intelligent animal, but an animal all the same. This was all beyond him. Draco made her happy, that was all that mattered to him. Alaw looked back down at her lunch and took another bite, but she didn't enjoy it quite as much now. Draco had made her happy, and she missed their easy conversations, she missed the laughter, the sarcastic quips. She wanted desperately to help him escape the terrible situation he was in, but she knew in her heart he would never leave his mother in danger.

After finishing her food and brushing away the crumbs, and any lingering thoughts of Draco, Alaw hopped down from the ledge and landed, none-too-gracefully, in front of Emrys.

" _Come on you, time to go hunting. I can't keep feeding you scraps from the Great Hall._ "

* * *

When Alaw returned to the castle the sky had begun to turn slightly pink and a chill wind made her draw the cloak more tightly around her shoulders. Their hunting trip hadn't exactly been successful. Though small for his species, Emrys was still a relatively big animal and needed to be eating a lot more than he currently was to stay healthy. They'd stalked a deer for an hour through the trees but it had spooked and Emrys hadn't been able to catch it. He contented himself with a few rabbits and a pigeon, but Alaw worried for him. Dragons were supposed to hunt from the air but Emrys was still a terrible flier and his didn't have any open spaces to practise in. The trees provided shelter, but also hindered his development. He needed to rolling mountain sides and rugged boulders of Snowdonia.

Alaw was surprised when she arrived in the Entrance Hall and found Ron, Hermione and Neville standing there, talking in low, excited voices. Alaw slipped into an alcove to doff the invisibility cloak and then approached her friends. Neville's eyes lit up when he caught sight of her.

"Al! Come here, we've got amazing news."

"What's up?" Alaw asked, surprised by his manner.

"We didn't know if we should come and get you - you told us not to hang around the nest too much -"

"Neville found a place to make out headquarters!" Hermione squeaked, unable to contain herself. "And it's brilliant! Up on the seventh floor."

"Shut the front door, are you serious?" Alaw gasped and all three of them nodded enthusiastically, grinning like idiots.

"And the best thing is, I don't think Dumbledore could possibly know about this place. Its - well - its kind of hard to explain - you'll have to see for yourself," said Ron.

All four of them set off at a trot up the grand staircase, though some of their energy had left them by the time they hauled themselves up seven flights of stairs. Panting, they turned onto the left-hand corridor and Neville threw out an arm once they were halfway down.

"Here, it's right here."

"Where?" Alaw asked, looking around. All she could see was a mouldy old tapestry depicting a wizard and a troop of trolls in what appeared to be ballet outfits. Neville turned to face the other three.

"You have to think really really hard about what we need. And I think it helps to pace up and down."

Alaw was confused, but did as Neville instructed. After all, there were stranger ways of getting about in the wizarding world. Silently, the four friends walked up and down the corridor, thinking with all their might about how they needed a secret place to meet. Alaw was just beginning to feel silly, when Neville stopped dead in his tracks and Alaw walked into him.

"There you go," he said proudly.

A plain, wooden door had appeared in the blank stretch of wall opposite the tapestry and Alaw gave a short laugh.

"I love magic," she said happily, reaching forward to open the door.

Inside she found a room which was exactly what she had been hoping for, and more. It was about the size of the potions lab, only with a higher ceiling, and with a wooden floor instead of stone. In the centre there was a long table with two dozen cushioned chairs set around it. Beyond this, against the far wall, was a set of wooden boards covered in strings and metal clips, obviously waiting to be filled with papers and photographs. At the sides of the room there were bookshelves, a couple of training dummies, and even a small potions table.

"This is amazing," Alaw breathed. "Oh, this is perfect! Ha! Well done old girl."

She said this last whilst patting the stone wall. She had never felt such affection for Hogwarts castle before, but the place really had pulled through for them this time. Then she turned to Neville.

"How did you find this place?"

Neville was beaming.

"I was just wondering around, trying to find an old classroom or something we might use, when the door just appeared! I guess the castle worked out that we needed to help."

Hermione had gone straight to the bookshelves to examine the tomes on offer and she clasped her hands together, turning back to the others.

"Alright, let's do this!" she said, her eyes glinting with new purpose. "We'll let the others know we've got a headquarters and schedule an official meeting for tomorrow!"

Alaw and the boys agreed and whilst they went about this new task, Alaw wandered over the table and put a hand on the back of one of the chairs. Their fight against Voldemort was beginning to feel a lot more real now.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

 **Plans and Pumpkin Juice**

Alaw sat on the edge of the meeting table, frowning at the notice boards before her. She'd spent most of the day in the new Flame headquarters, getting it ready for their first meeting that evening. She'd brought all her notes about Voldemort, his Death Eaters and his new recruits within Hogwarts, duplicated them, and pinned them up neatly on the boards. The biggest and fullest board was dedicated entirely to the Death Eaters at large, the ones who had been in the graveyard in May, and who's names they'd picked up whilst eavesdropping on the Order. Beneath each of the dozen or so names Alaw had stuck a short snipped of information like age, occupation, important family and business connections, and a photograph.

At the top of the board was Lucius Malfoy and Alaw glared at his image, taken from the Daily Prophet. In it, he was shaking hands with Cornelius Fudge at some fund raising do for St Mungo's. Then her eyes slid from him to the next board, which she had reserved for Voldemort himself. Only, there was very little pinned to it. She didn't even have a photograph.

"This just looks sad," she complained, shaking her head at the empty board.

Ron wondered over, munching on a pumpkin pasty, and sat himself next to Alaw on the table.

"What can you do? The bloke's practically a ghost."

"It's weird, he's this huge figure, and yet we know next to nothing about him!" Alaw sighed. "I mean seriously, we have no idea who he is, what his real name is, or who his family are. The only thing we know for certain is that he was in Slytherin a long time ago."

Voldemort's board consisted of a few newspaper clippings, documenting his rise to power and all the important events during that reign, until his downfall twenty years ago. Hermione joined her friends at the table with an armful of books.

"Do you know how old he is?" she asked and Ron and Alaw looked at her in surprise.

"No, why?"

"Well," Hermione mused. "If we had an idea of his age, we can work out when he might have been at Hogwarts, and then we can look at the old school records and maybe track him down that way."

Alaw hummed thoughtfully and hopped off the table to approach the board.

"The earliest mention I have of him is in January, 1961. This article here."

She tapped the short, yellowing clipping near the top of the board. The headline read; ' **LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS BREAK UP ANTI-MUGGLE RALLY IN LEAKY CAULDRON** '. Beneath it was a small piece describing the rally as little more than a delusional young man spitting bile at a crowd of equally delusional young men. There was also a picture of members of the Law Enforcement squad dragging away a couple of struggling young wizards. Neither of the wizards were Voldemort himself, the caption named them as Evan Rosier and George Selwyn.

"The article doesn't say anything about Voldemort himself," she sighed, crossing her arms in frustration. "Doesn't even use his real name! It just says he got away before the squad could interrogate him."

"Well, if that was 1961, and we assume he had already finished school by then, that makes him at least seventy-something," said Hermione, who seemed determined not to be disheartened.

Alaw remembered back to the graveyard and the twisted, inhuman figure who had risen from the cauldron. She shuddered. No, his physical appearance now was nothing to go on, that body had been custom made for the ritual, his original had been burned to a crisp during his first attempt on Alaw's life. Luckily, she didn't have much time to dwell on this as the door to their headquarters opened at that moment and Neville came in, leading Fred, George, Ginny and Luna.

"Whoa," said Fred appreciatively, his eyes roving around the room. "Nice secret hideout!"

"It's good right?" said Ron, hurrying over to the duelling dummies enthusiastically. "Check these out!"

Luna Lovegood was also gazing around at the ceiling and walls.

"You know, I think this might be the Come and Go Room," she said absently. "Professor Flitwick told us about it once. It's also called the Room of Requirement. He said there had been rumours about a secret room hidden around Hogwarts for centuries, a room that appears when the seeker has great need of it. But he said it was probably just an urban legend like the Chamber of Secrets."

Alaw grinned and also glanced up at the ceiling.

"Good old Hogwarts, never lets us down does she?" she chuckled.

The rest of the Flames arrived soon after and they were able to start the meeting properly. Everyone took their seats around the table and Alaw went to sit on the left-hand side - only to be prodded away by Ron.

"No, no, you're the leader, you sit there at the head of the table," he said, rolling his eyes. Grumbling irritably, Alaw sank down into the only empty chair left and immediately felt awkward with everyone's eyes on her.

"Okay then, uh, afternoon everyone," she said, dropping her gaze to the notes she had in front of her and shuffling the papers unnecessarily. "So I guess you all found the place alright. And I don't think I have to say this but - don't tell anyone else about this room and uh…"

She became distracted when, to her left, Hermione started jotting something down. Alaw looked at her questioningly.

"Oh I'm just taking minutes," Hermione said cheerfully. "Carry on."

Ron suppressed a snort and Neville smiled down at his lap.

"Anyway," Alaw pressed on, now trying to ignore Hermione's scribbling. "What do you all think?"

"I love it!" said Hannah appreciatively. "I can't believe it's been here this whole time and no one knew!"

"I especially like how you redecorated," said Susan, eyeing the information boards. "Very uh - professional. How do you know all those people are Death Eaters?"

"Well, some of them I saw in the graveyard in May, and others are names we've picked up listening in on Dumbledore and company," Alaw explained. She didn't really want to name drop the Order of the Phoenix specifically but it seemed obvious, from the look Hannah and Susan exchanged, that they knew what she was talking about anyway.

"Uh, yeah, so for the time being you're just going to have to take our word for it that this lot are with Voldemort. But don't worry, the first thing we're going to do is get proof, and I personally think we should start with the baby Death Eaters, the ones who are here at Hogwarts. Dumbledore and his lot are dealing with their daddies, but no ones keeping an eye on the students."  
Alaw waved her hand at the third board, the one dedicated to Voldemort's Hogwarts operations. It bore the names and photos of Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and - much to Alaw's regret, Draco Malfoy. She'd hesitated before adding Draco's details, but she couldn't just pretend he wasn't a Death Eater now. The Flames needed to know who to watch out for.  
"Um, what's that bit underneath?" Ginny asked, nodding at another series of photographs and the strings that connected different names.  
"Ah, now, you'll have to bare with me here cause it sounds a bit weird. But we think Voldemort is trying to build a series of marriage alliances."  
There were twitters around the table at that and Fred full on snorted.  
"You Know Who's playing match maker? Come off it."  
"No I'm serious!" Alaw pressed. "It makes sense if you think about it. He's getting all his Death Eaters to marry their kids off to each other, or into influential families. The red strings are the matches I've got evidence for. Like Daphne for example, she told me herself she's got to marry Thorfinn Rowle after she graduates. And I'll tell you now, she is not happy about it."  
"I don't blame her," said Ron, looking revolted. "Thorfinn Rowle's a right creep! A couple of years back he nearly landed in the Wizengamot after some sort of trouble with a muggle prostitute, but his pal Avery hushed it all up. Daphne's parents can't make her do this!"  
Alaw hadn't actually heard that particular piece of gossip and after raising an eyebrow, she glanced at Hermione who nodded and underlined the information in her notes.  
"They're scared," Alaw explained grimly, bypassing that for the time being. "They think that by marrying her off to one of Voldemort's supporters, they're keeping their family safe. You can see where they're coming from, even though it sucks for Daphne. So if you all don't mind, I want to add 'breaking up engagements' to the agenda. It'll help with turning all the Death Eaters against each other."  
There were nods of agreement around the table and Fred and George exchanged a gleeful look. Causing mischief amongst the most powerful families in the country was right up their street.  
"Where does Daphne stand in all this?" Lee asked. "Are her and the other Slytherins supporting Voldemort then?"  
"Not all of his fans are Slytherins," Alaw pointed out, a little waspishly. "And as far as I can tell, they're just keeping their heads down for now, which is the smartest move to be honest. But people like Tracy, who's a half-blood and a bastard, and Cameron, who's got a history of being pro-muggle, will be in real danger if Voldemort comes into the open. Theodore and the other baby Death Eaters would just love to have a crack at them."  
Fred's face twisted.  
"I don't recon we should waste our time protecting people who would rather side with Voldemort than stand with us. They made their choice."  
An unpleasant chill ran down Alaw's spine and she struggled to keep her temper.  
"Not every frightened person deserves to be thrown under the bus," she snapped. "That sort of attitude will just drive more people to him, if they think they've got no other choice."

Ron unexpectedly chimed in to support her.

"Daphne and Tracy are our friends, we can't just dump them because they're scared. I think we should help as much as we can."

Alaw looked at Ron in surprise and smiled gratefully. She'd have thought he'd be the last person to speak up for the rights of Slytherins, but, then again, he did spend a lot of time with Daphne last year when they were both on the Quidditch team. Alaw decided to move on before anyone else could voice their disapproval.

"Ok, so our main goals so far are turn the Death Eaters against each other, find proof that Theodore and his merry band of bastards have joined up and then expose them, and get some allies in the Ministry. Susan, how are we looking on that?"

"I wrote to my aunt a few days ago and I got a reply this morning. She says she's coming to Hogsmeade on Ministry business the first weekend in October and she'd be happy to meet up in the Three Broomsticks for lunch."

"Brilliant! It will be good to have at least one sensible person in the Ministry at least willing to listen to us," said Hermione and Alaw nodded in agreement.

"Definitely, although, whilst we're on the subject of letters, I'd advise you all not to put too much information in writing, ok? The Ministry and Voldemort are bound to be intercepting owls and we don't want to draw too much of their attention."  
 _Or Dumbledore's_ , Alaw added privately in her head.

* * *

With Amelia Bones' visit still a few weeks away, the Flames decided to keep their heads down and concentrate on their school work for the time being. Alaw still spent most evenings down in the Slytherin Common Room, hoping to pick up gossip about Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but idle chatter was beginning to feel rather childish. She wished she could snoop around Theodore's room and read his letters, but a little experimenting had shown her that the locking spell on his door was too sophisticated for her to break without making a very obvious mess. She'd also burned her fingers into the bargain and had to report to Madam Pomfrey.

Her failure in the dungeons wasn't the only thing irritating Alaw. Umbridge's lessons did not improve as September wore on. She continued to have them make notes from the atrocious textbook whilst she sat at the teacher's desk, not actually doing much work herself. She seemed to enjoy making Alaw uncomfortable by watching her throughout the lesson. Alaw did her best to ignore her and used the time to plan the Flames' next move. She was determined to out Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle as a Death Eaters. It had to big, it had to be public and it had to be soon. There was an ugly rumour going around that he and his cronies were responsible for a midnight attack in Hogsmeade on a lone Ravenclaw muggle-born a few days ago. The girl had been too frightened to say a word, but passers-by had heard the sounds of a scuffle and her screams.

Alaw had over heard Theodore sniggering about the incident during break the next day, but he'd stopped talking abruptly when Draco had joined the group. It seemed the baby Death Eaters no longer held any respect for Draco and were trying their best to cut him out of their social circle. Draco didn't spend much time with them anymore as far as Alaw could tell, he seemed to practically live in the potions lab or the library. Alaw was glad, the best thing he could do for himself was stay well out of all this.

Alaw had been staring off into space for sometime whilst these thoughts buzzed around her head and didn't notice that Umbridge had approached her desk until she coughed.

"Hem-hem."

Alaw jerked out of her reverie and looked up at Umbridge who smiled sweetly at her.

"A little less day-dreaming, and a little more work, if you please Miss Jones. Ten points from Slytherin."

There were a few quiet grunts of annoyance from the Slytherins, but Alaw had long since stopped caring about the House Cup.

"Sorry, Professor," she said blandly, picking up her pen and scanning the textbook for her spot. Before she could put pen to paper however, Umbridge plucked it out of her hand.

"Students will use proper writing equipment in my class, you aren't a muggle, after all. Do you have a quill with you, or would you like to borrow one of mine?"

Alaw glared up at Umbridge, not bothering now to hide her loathing. _Hateful bitch_ , she thought venomously. How she would dearly love to introduce Umbridge to Emrys, and see how cocky she was when facing down a dragon's jaws.

"I have my own, thank you, Professor," Alaw said coldly. She reached into her bag for a quill and a bottle of ink whilst Umbridge returned to the teacher's desk, taking Alaw's biro with her. Once all had settled down in the classroom, Alaw heard the chair behind her creak and then Theodore's low voice hiss,

"But you are a muggle, aren't you? A muggle slut with no business being here."

Alaw's quill paused on the parchment and she considered turning around, but thought better of it. As she continued with her notes she wrapped her free hand around the dragon pendant. The garnet barely gave off any warmth now, the protective magic had all but died. But Alaw had an idea for a more permanent form of protection, she just had to speak to Tracy about it in private.

At the end of the lesson, Alaw hurriedly packed her things and wriggled through the scrum at the door to get ahead of Theodore. He had a habit of trying to corner her before and after lessons and meals. There was a girl's toilet at the end of the corridor which Alaw ducked into so she'd have somewhere discrete to put the invisibility cloak on. She'd just locked herself in one of the stalls and was tugging the cloak out of her bag when she heard a group of people enter the bathroom.

"Just leave me alone, Pansy!" said a voice that Alaw recognised as belonging to Millicent Bulstrode. She sounded tearful.

"Come on, Millie, we're only having a laugh. So go on, how much if your father offering Flint to take you off his hands?"

"Shut up! He's not offering anything! Just go away!"

"What ever it is, it won't be enough," Hestia Carrow chimed in. "He'd have to throw out great sackfuls of Galleons to get anyone to marry a fat cow like you."

Alaw peered through the crack between the stall door and the wall and saw Millicent pressed up against the sinks, weeping, her chest shuddering, whilst Pansy and Hestia bore down on her.

"You do know you have to be pretty to get a husband right?" Pansy jeered. Millicent's distress was apparently amusing to the other girls but Alaw scowled. After taking careful aim at the toilet behind Hestia, Alaw whispered,

" _Bombarda_!"

The cistern cracked and the pipes burst loose from the walls. The spell hadn't been strong enough to send the porcelain flying, but Pansy and Hestia were coated head to foot in toilet water. Whilst they squealed, Alaw took aim again, this time at Pansy's feet.

" _Flippendo!_ "

Pansy went flying on the wet floor and took Hestia down with her. Millicent remained upright, clutching the sink and gazing in confusion at the destruction before her.

"It's all in my hair!" Pansy wailed, scrambling to her feet and bolting for the door, Hestia hot on her heels. Alaw waited until their angry voices were out of earshot before opening the stall door. Millicent started when she appeared.

"Was that you?!" she asked, gesturing at the broken toilet.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that," said Alaw, noticing that Millicent's robes were soaked up to the knee. "Hang on a sec, I'll take care of it for you. _Aerocalidus_!"

She gave her wand a wriggle and hot air flowed from the tip, drying off the worst of the damp in Millicent's robes.

"Come on," she said, stowing her wand away in her robes. "Let's get out of here before Filch catches us and goes mental."

Millicent nodded and followed Alaw out of the bathroom at a brisk trot. After they'd put a few corridors between them and the toilet, Millicent turned to Alaw.

"Hey, um, thanks. For making them go away."

"Don't mention it. It's not like I need a reason to make Pansy make a prat of herself."

Millicent sniggered but then abruptly fell silent as a couple of Ravenclaws walked passed them.

"Um, I really do appreciate your help, but I can't really be seen talking to you," Millicent mumbled. Her cheeks reddened and she looked down at her feet. Alaw glanced over her shoulder at the retreating Ravenclaws and sighed.

"I understand, Theodore's still conducting his witch hunt, is he?"

Millicent nodded miserably.

"Anyone who talks to Mudbloods of blood traitors gets hexed. The other day, he and some others cornered Malcom Baddock just for lending that Weasley girl a hand putting the Quidditch balls away. He ended up in the Hospital Wing! I am grateful for what you did for me in first year but - I'm scared."

"Millicent, it's okay. I get it. I don't want to put you in danger. I'll leave you be now."

Alaw started to walk away but she'd only taken a few steps when Millicent blurted out,

"You're in danger too!"

Alaw paused and glanced back, frowning. Millicent looked wretched and she lowered her voice.

"Theodore's out to get you! I heard him talking to Gregory and Vincent last night. He said they were going to corner you and - uh…"

Millicent trailed off but her pale face and trembling lip told Alaw all she needed to know.

"Don't worry, he'll have to catch me first," said Alaw stoutly.

"Be careful when you go to your rooms a night, that's where he said he'd wait for you."

Alaw nodded.

"I will deal with Theodore and his cronies soon," Alaw vowed. "I won't let the Death Eaters take over Slytherin. We deserve to be more than Voldemort's recruitment ground."

Millicent flinched at the sound of the name and gave Alaw a serious look.

"He really is back, isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so."

Millicent shuffled her feet. She opened her mouth to say something but after meeting Alaw's eye her nerve seemed to fail her. All she said was,

"Be careful."

Then she turned on her heel and hurried away, leaving Alaw feeling thoughtful.

* * *

The weather developed a bite when October arrived so Alaw and Hermione wrapped up warm for their walk into Hogmeade to meet Madam Bones. They'd met up with Susan and Hannah in the Entrance Hall and the four girls had to fight a strong wind on their journey down the lane. Due to the bad weather, there's weren't too many students in the village that day, and the Three Broomsticks was mainly filled with locals. There were only a few Hogwarts residents dotted around. Alaw spotted Draco sitting up on the balcony with Blaise Zabini, his head, as usual, buried in a book. Alaw hadn't spoken to Draco once since term started, even though they were meant to meet and discuss their Prefect duties from time to time. Also in the pub was Tracy Davies. She was sitting alone for some reason at a table by the door.

"I don't think aunty is here yet," said Susan, her eyes sweeping the room. "We're a little early."

"We'll get some drinks whilst we wait. What would you like?" asked Hermione.

The Hufflepuffs told Hermione their orders, handed over some coins and then went to find them a table.

"Just get me a Butterbeer or something, here," said Alaw, fishing a couple of sickles out of her pocket and pressing them into Hermione's palm. "I'm just going to be here."

Hermione followed her gaze and nodded in understanding before turning to the bar. Alaw walked over to the table by the door and dropped into the seat opposite Tracy.

"Hi," she said, and Tracy looked up from her mug in surprise.

"Oh, hi, god, it's not often I see you out and about. You're usually under that bloody cloak," Tracy remarked and Alaw smiled faintly.

"I'm meeting someone here in a bit," she explained and then she cocked her head quizzically. "No Daphne today?"

To Alaw's surprise, Tracy bowed her head and looked suddenly forlorn.

"Uh, no, just me. I can do my homework in here without getting harassed by Theodore's lot. I'm not very welcome in the library or the common room at the moment."

She did indeed have a Potions textbook open in front of her, along with a wad of parchment covered in notes. Alaw squinted at her dubiously.

"Have you and Daphne had a falling out or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that, it's just," Tracy glanced around awkwardly. "I just don't think it's safe for her to look too friendly with, well, someone like me. She's really stressed out at the moment. Her parents are dragging her to London next week to meet Rowle. They're going out for dinner or something."

Alaw grimaced at the mention of the upcoming nuptials. She hadn't been able to find much on Thorfinn Rowle from her evenings eavesdropping in the dungeons. The only way Alaw could think of breaking up the engagement was to somehow land Rowle in prison. But some rumours from the Common Room weren't going to be enough for that, she needed real evidence of a real crime.

"I am working on that," Alaw assured Tracy. "But it's slow going at the moment."

Tracy shrugged in a 'what can you do?' kind of way and took a dejected sip of her drink. Anger was gnawing at Alaw's stomach, not at Tracy or Daphne, but at Voldemort. He wasn't even operating openly yet, but he already had Slytherin house at his beck and call. Well, Alaw wasn't going to let it continue. Slytherin was full of good, intelligent people, they deserved _better_.

"There's actually something I've been meaning to ask you," Alaw said, recalling Tracy's attention. "You remember how you did this for me last March?" She indicated the small tattoo in the shape of an acorn and an oak leaf on her inner wrist and Tracy grinned.

"You want another one eh? I told you you'd get the bug, everybody does."

"Well, what I had in mind this time is a bit more ambitious."

Alaw quickly outlined what she wanted and Tracy's eyebrows crept up.

"That is ambitious," she said. "I dunno Al, I think you're over-estimating my skills. I mean, I can do the tattoo no problem, though it might take a few sessions. But the extra stuff, that's probably beyond me."

"I could help with it, I've had some ideas. And I can pay you for your time."

Tracy chewed her lip, mulling it over. It seemed the more she thought about it, the more she warmed to the idea.

"I guess we could try it," she said slowly. "I'll have to do some sketches and then get back to you…but it sounds interesting. My mum would be so into this. I'll write and tell her all about it. She's not a witch, but she'll probably have some advice for me."

"Great!" said Alaw, grinning. "Oh, I have to go, but I'll talk to you soon."

As she left to join Hermione, Hannah and Susan, Tracy turned her attention back to her homework, but instead of writing notes, she began to doodle.

Alaw had barely sat down with her friends and accepted a Butterbeer from Hermione, when the door of the pub opened and Amelia Bones walked in. She was wearing a light grey, velvet traveling cloak over her black robes as well as her usual monocle. Susan waved and witch's sharp eyes caught the movement. She wound her way between the tables of chattering locals and the girls rose to greet her.

"Hello aunty," said Susan, hugging Madam Bones warmly.

"Hello dear, you look well," said the older witch, dropping her professional demeanour for just a moment to favour her niece with a smile. But then her face became neutral as she turned her attention to the other girls.

"Miss Jones, Miss Granger," she greeted rather coolly. Alaw marshalled her courage and extended her hand.

"Madam Bones, thank you for agreeing to meet us."

"Yes well, I could hardly deny my niece a quiet drink in Hogsmeade," said Madam Bones drily, also shaking hands with Hermione and Hannah. The five of them sat down and Madam Bones flagged down a passing waitress to order a glass of pumpkin juice. No alcohol, Alaw noted, perhaps she should have done the same. Nervously, she tugged the sleeve of her robe down to cover her tattoo.

"So, Miss Jones, to what do I owe this summons?" Madam Bones asked once the waitress and gone to fix her drink. Alaw knew she'd have to be delicate here, or she'd run the risk of sounding like a whiny kid, or Dumbledore's mouthpiece.

"I was hoping to talk to you about the Voldemort situation."

Hannah and Susan shifted uncomfortably in their seats and Madam Bones blinked, the only reaction to gave to the sound of the name.

"I surmised as much," she said. "So, you're going to try and convince me that a man who died twenty years ago has risen from the grave?"

"I'm going to tell you what I know, what I've seen. Without Fudge and Dumbledore hanging over us and interrupting every five minutes to have a go at each other."

Alaw had done her research. Amelia Bones had worked under Barty Crouch during the war, she'd been senior enough in the Law Enforcement Department to know the true circumstances of Voldemort's 'death'. She may even have been there at the Hospital after his killing curse had backfired, but that was where Alaw's information dried up because the files concerning the end of the war were still classified, two decades after the fact. Madam Bones pursed her lips and regarded Alaw through narrowed eyes.

"Alright Jones, I'll listen to what you have to say. But that's all I'll do," she said at last and Alaw nodded.

"That's all I ask, for now."

Madam Bones waved a hand.

"Well, go on then," she prompted and Alaw took a deep breath and, for what felt like the hundredth time, began her story.

She had become quite practised at leaving out or glossing over incriminating bits of information, like Emrys' existence, or Sirius' involvement. She didn't need the Ministry loosing sight of the real issue, Voldemort, and latching on the idea that she knew something about Sirius' whereabouts. Alaw was now also able to talk about the events in the graveyard without shuddering at the memory. It made her sound a bit dispassionate, but that was probably the best approach with someone like Amelia Bones.

Madam Bones, for her part, listened in silence, her face unreadable and occasionally taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. But Alaw, caught up in her retelling, was letting her Butterbeer grow cold. When she was done she sat back in her chair and watched Madam Bones closely to see her reaction. When she said nothing, Alaw glanced at Hermione and said,

"So uh, yeah, that's what I know. That's the truth."

"The truth?" Madam Bones repeated with a dry smile. "Is it indeed?"

"It is," said Alaw firmly. "Why would I make up a story like that?"

"Loyalty to Dumbledore?" Madam Bones suggested. "He also requested a meeting with me, back in May. He told me much the same thing."

Now that was very interesting information to Alaw, though not all-together surprising, and she squirrelled it away in her mind to add to the file she had on the activities of the Order of the Phoenix later.

"Why would Professor Dumbledore make it up then?" asked Hermione earnestly. "He's a good man, he wouldn't lie about something like this."

Alaw had to fight very hard not to snort at these words and Madam Bones fixed Hermione with a hard stare.

"Albus Dumbledore always does what he thinks is best. He has dedicated his life to fighting Dark Magic and those who practise it. During the war against the Death Eaters, Dumbledore held an unprecedented amount of power in the wizarding community. People looked to him, rather than the Ministry, to protect them. Since the end of the war, his influence has waned and people like Fudge have risen in his stead. Perhaps Dumbledore feels he can lead this country better and he needs this story to depose Fudge."

 _That, unfortunately, is a really good argument_ , Alaw thought. Susan however, pointed out the flaw in it.

"But, aunty, Professor Dumbledore has never wanted to be Minister for Magic. He turned it down when Millicent Bagnold retired."

"And a shrewd move it was," said Madam Bones. "Madam Bagnold was a good war leader, as was Dumbledore. But this country was tired of war and they would have grown tired of Dumbledore soon if he'd taken office just after the war. Much the same thing happened to Barty Crouch. Fudge has been a much more measured peace time Minister."

Weak, in other words, Alaw thought bitterly. All well and good for peace, but not when Voldemort was at large.

"This isn't about Dumbledore and his ambitions," Alaw said, a little anger leaking into her voice. "I am not his puppet. He stood by and did nothing during out first year when the Purebloods harassed and beat me for daring to be a Slytherin and a Mudblood. And now he treats us like children, he acts like this is nothing to do with us, even though Voldemort is actively gunning for us! So, what I'm saying is, I'm not asking you to believe Dumbledore, I'm asking you to believe me."

"I don't know you, Miss Jones," Madam Bones pointed out. "And you still don't have a shred of proof."

Alaw schooled her expression. Madam Bones was clearly here to get the measure of her and she would not loose her temper. It was, after all, a perfectly reasonable point.

"No," Alaw conceded. "I don't have any evidence that will stand up in court. Just my word. But I intend to find evidence."

There was a pause whilst Madam Bones studied Alaw shrewdly. Her grey eyes flicked from side to side and Alaw knew she was checking to see if there was anyone close enough to overhear them. When she spoke, her voice was quiet.

"Miss Jones, I saw the Dark Lord's corpse after his spell backfired. It was blackened and burned, and it was disposed of by the Ministry. For what your saying to be true, he would have had to find a way for his soul to survive without a vessel, and then elude the Ministry for twenty years."

Hermione spoke then, also in a muted tone.

"Madam Bones, you fought against him during the war, you know the kind of twisted magic he's capable of, you know the lengths he was willing to go to. Is this really so unbelievable?"

"Ah, but with that logic, you could justify any story you like," Madam Bones countered. "And the ritual you described, I have never heard of anything like it."

"Voldemort said it was an old spell he'd adapted himself," Alaw explained. She couldn't tell if Madam Bones believed them or not. She argued against their every point, but she was listening all the same.

"We'll find proof," Alaw said eventually. "I swear we will, but until then, I have to ask you to be careful. Voldemort has Death Eaters in important positions at the Ministry."

Before Madam Bones could think of an answer to that, Professor McGonagall passed their table and then doubled back.

"Amelia, I had not thought to see you here," she said in surprise. Her gaze took in the four students and Alaw groaned internally. She hadn't expected to keep this meeting a secret from Dumbledore for very long, but this had to be some kind of record.

"I had some business with Ambrosius Flume," Madam Bones explained. "And my niece asked for a catch up."

"Will you be returning to London today? Because you're welcome to dine at the castle this evening if you wish."

Alaw glanced at Madam Bones and willed her to say yes. This was too perfect an opportunity. Madam Bones considered the proposal and then, to Alaw's delight, accepted. Their business concluded, Madam Bones bid farewell to the students, shaking hands with each of them and hugging Susan again.

"Just make sure you don't do anything illegal in your pursuit of proof," the older witch said sharply, before taking her leave. Once she was gone, the girls sat back down and looked at each other.

"I can't tell if that went well or not," Hannah muttered anxiously.

"She listened, which is more than more people would do," Susan pointed out and Hermione nodded in agreement before turning to Alaw.

"So, how do we get this proof then?" she asked. Alaw pursed her lips and fiddled with her fingers.

"I have an idea," she said slowly. "It might be dangerous, and I wish we'd had more time to prepare, but this is the best chance we'll ever have. We need to head back to the castle and round up the boys."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **Just Rewards**

Alaw spent so much time under the invisibility cloak these days that she felt quite naked without it. She'd just finished eating an early dinner and was making her way to her rooms, after bidding Hermione farewell on the second floor landing. The Fat Lady snored softly as Alaw passed her portrait and when she turned onto the west wing corridor, Sir Cadogan jerked out of his own snooze.

"Good evening my lady! You'll be glad to hear that all had been quiet on my watch."

"Good to know. Galahad!"

"Correct!"

The portrait swung open, but before Alaw could step into her room, a spell flashed past her. Alaw yelped and sprang backwards, feeling her hair ruffle in the wake of the jinx.

"Evening Mudblood."

Her heart now thudding, Alaw looked down towards the end of the corridor. Theodore Nott stood there, his wand out, and a triumphant smirk on his pinched face. Alaw drew her wand and prepared herself to run. Sir Cadogan was beside himself.

"Dishonourable cad!" he raged. "How dare you attack a lady from behind! I shall fetch Professor McGonagall!"

"Go ahead, she's still at dinner entertaining that ugly cow from the Ministry," Theodore sneered. "Now then Mudblood, I've been longing to have a little chat with you. Why don't we go somewhere more private?"

He advanced on her with his wand held aloft and Alaw glanced behind her, checking her means of escape. She knew that if she carried on down this corridor, away from Gryffindor Tower, she'd end up in the West Wing. It was an isolated part of the castle, perfect for an ambush.

"My lady! Hide yourself within, and I shall fetch assistance to deal with this villain!" Sir Cadogan urged.

Alaw glanced into the safety of her rooms but Theodore shot another spell at her that she just barely dodged. Alaw ran for it, heading for the West Wing, with Sir Cadogan shouting curses at Theodore as he pursued her. Alaw had to duck and weave as two more hexes were shot after her. She knew if she was hit, all would be lost. She dove through the door at the end so forcefully that it crashed off the wall and made an unholy racket. Alaw now had a choice, turn right down the new corridor, or take the stairs directly opposite her up to the roof. The decision was made for her when a meaty hand shot out from behind a suit of armor and tried to grab the back of her robes. Panicking, Alaw forgot her wand and punched Goyle full in the nose, following it up with a swift kick between the legs. Goyle sunk to his knees, wheezing, and Crabbe, who'd been hiding with him, raised his wand.

" _Pituita_!" Alaw cried, her own wand barely a few inches from Crabbe's face.

The proximity was apparently helpful as Alaw would normally have been unable to perform the bat-bogey hex, defence never having been her strong suit. Whilst Crabbe howled and tried to beat away the bats now erupting from his nose, Alaw dashed up the stairs. Theodore had by now arrived and shot after her.

"Keep running Mudblood!" he shouted. "Because when I catch you, we're going to fuck you till you can't stand!"

In her panic, Alaw tripped on the stairs and she scrambled to right herself.

" _Glacius_!" she yelled, jerking her wand behind her. She heard Theodore swear as he slipped on the now ice encrusted steps. When she burst out onto the battlements, Alaw slammed the door shut and slashed her wand in an X movement.

" _Coloportus!_ "

The lock clicked into place and Alaw took a second to collect herself. Coloportus only worked in one's casting was strong enough to counter the Alohamora charm. Alaw waited tensely as she heard the Slytherins reach the door and attempt to open it. The keyhole glowed but the door remained intact. Alaw smiled, proud of her own charms work. However, Coloportus was no defence against -

"Fuck!" Alaw cried, backing away hastily as the door was blown off its hinges by a powerful blasting curse. Theodore was red faced and panting but grinning widely and he stepped over the broken pieces.

"End of the line, Mudblood. Oh I'm going to enjoy this."

Alaw was trapped, her back was pressed against the parapet and Crabbe and Goyle joined their leader and were out-flanking her.

"You do know Voldemort has a thing about killing me himself, right?" Alaw asked, trying not to let her voice shake.

"Oh we're not going to kill you," Theodore said. "No, we're just going to make you wish you were never born. Our Master will be pleased to hear we put you in your place."

"Please send him my regards. NOW!"

Theodore frowned and then he and his cronies shrieked as half a dozen jinxes blasted them from all sides.

* * *

Sick of eating alone these days, Draco had opted that evening to sit with Blaise at the Slytherin table. Blaise was good company as he did not require much conversation was usually happy to sit in comfortable silence. That evening however, he interrupted Draco's reading to nudge him in the ribs.

"Hey, isn't that Amelia Bones?

Draco lifted his head from his book and looked up at the staff table. Sure enough, sitting between Professors McGonagall and Sprout was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The three witches were deep in earnest discussion and further down the table, Umbridge kept shooting them suspicious glances.

"What's she doing here?" Draco asked, his brow furrowing. Daphne Greengrass, who was sitting just far enough from them that it couldn't be said that she was sitting _with_ them, said in an undertone,

"I saw her in the village earlier, I think she's visiting her niece. You know, Susan, in Hufflepuff."

Draco glanced over at the Hufflepuff table and watched Susan Bones play chess with Hannah Abbot for a few moments. But then, inevitably, his eyes slid over to the Gryffindor table. He couldn't see Alaw or her friends so he assumed they were eating up in her rooms again. He just hoped she was being careful, Theodore had stepped up his plans to corner her someone isolated and Draco knew he'd been staking out her rooms. Remembering the dragon pendant he'd given her for her birthday last year, Draco wondered if it's protective charm had worn off yet. Surely it had, but Alaw was good with Charms, if he could work out how to enchant the pendant, she definitely could.

"Aw!" Draco cried as Blaise kicked him under the table. "What was that for?!"

"You were gazing wistfully into space," said Blaise flatly. Across the table, Daphne sniggered. Scowling, Draco concentrated on his cottage pie, chewing a little more forcefully than was necessary. Daphne watched him in exasperation.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, why don't you get over yourself already and go and talk to Alaw? It's painfully obvious that you miss her."

Draco fixed Daphne with his coldest sneer.

"Why would I miss that dull, uneducated Mudblood? That potions project last year was torture, she nearly cost me my O.W.L."

Daphne look her head and rolled her eyes.

"Coward," she sniffed contemptuously. "I wouldn't give up so easily on a friend, no matter what Theodore threatened."

"Oh really?" Draco snarled, his temper flaring. "Then tell me, why aren't you sitting with your pal Tracy? After all the jabs Theodore's been making about her mother, I would have thought you'd be sticking by her."

His cruel dig did the trick. Daphne's face went white with fury but she didn't retaliate. Instead, she got up and stomped away to sit with Millicent Bulstrode.

"Well, you handled that gracefully," Blaise said dryly. Draco ignored him and went back to his food.

They managed to get all the way through dinner without incident, but just as Draco was finishing off his apple crumble, there came an almighty BANG from the Entrance Hall. People at the house tables screamed and quite a few glasses of pumpkin juice were upset. Up at the staff table the teachers leaped to their feet and hurried to investigate, though their passage was slowed by the students who also got out of their seats to snoop.

"Everyone remain seated, please!" called Professor McGonagall, but hardly anybody listened.

The Slytherin table was closest to the exit so Draco was able to beat most of the crowd out of the hall. There was already a sizable group of students in the Entrance Hall, all gasping and giggling at the spectacle before them. Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle, trussed up like Christmas turkeys and dangling in midair by their ankles. Their entire bodies were bound by ropes, except their left arms, which had been pulled above their heads and tied together at the wrists. Whoever had done this to them had cut away the sleeves of their robes so that their forearms were bare for all the world to see. Draco felt sick to his stomach as the laughter subsided and the voices in the hall grew shocked and frightened as people caught sight of the dark stain on each Slytherins arm.

By now the teachers had arrived and were trying to negotiate the trapped boys onto the ground without hurting them. Umbridge was barking orders at the students, trying to disperse the crowd, but the cry had already gone up.

"The Dark Mark!"

"They have the Dark Mark!"

"I saw it, on their arms!"

Draco's hand wrapped convulsively around his own concealed tattoo, feeling it's presence more keenly than ever. Blaise, who had followed him out of the Great Hall, glanced at him sharply from the corner of his eye. Blaise didn't know Draco had taken the oath and joined the Death Eaters, Draco had never told a soul, but he suspected. By now, Professor Flitwick had levitated Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle onto the flagstone floor and cut their bonds, but now the atmosphere in the hall was verging on full blown hysteria.

"You have to arrest them aunty!" Susan Bones cried, clutching Madam Bones' arm. "They're Death Eaters!"

"Don't be ridiculous girl!" Umbridge snapped. She looked furious. "The Dark Lord is dead! There are no more Death Eaters!"

The students all around them erupted in protest.

"But the mark! They have the mark!"

"They must be Death Eaters, how else did they get it?"

"You have to arrest them!"

"Silence!" Umbridge shrieked, a little hysterically.

There was a click and a flash of light as one of the Gryffindor first years, an irritating boy by the name of Colin Creevey, snapped a photograph of the guilty Slytherins. Umbridge turned on the boy, her eyes popping madly.

"Give me that camera!" she demanded, advancing with her wand drawn. The Gryffindor did not hand over his camera, instead taking another photograph of the enraged witch as she approached him. Madam Bones stepped past her Ministry colleague and looked down at the Slytherin boys, still trying to disentangle themselves from the ropes.

"I will need to speak to all three of you at once," she said coldly. "Pomona? Might we use you office as it is closest?"

"Of course," said Professor Sprout.

As Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle were led away and Professor Flitwick got the gawking students to go about their business, Draco's gaze fell on Snape. His godfather was muttering urgently with Dumbledore near the giant hourglasses that marked the house points. The headmaster shook his head, his expression grave. Then both men raised their heads and looked at something above them. Draco followed their gaze and saw, leaning over the banister of the grand staircase, Alaw, Granger, Longbottom, and the four Weasleys. All of them were grinning and as Draco watched, Alaw blew a kiss to the headmaster. Dumbledore did not look amused and quickly turned to sweep after Madam Bones through a door next to the stairs. Blaise had also been watching and he leaned in to mutter to Draco,

"Say what you will about your Mudblood friend, but she's bloody brave."

* * *

The following day, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were officially suspended from Hogwarts, and the Room of Requirement played host to its first celebration party.

"To the Flames!" Ron toasted, raising his goblet high and slopping some oak matured mead onto the stone floor.

"The Flames!" they all cheered. Alaw took a large gulp of her Gillywater and grinned.

She had hardly stopped grinning all day. She had smiled as Theodore and his henchmen were marched away by Madam Bones. She had beamed when Rufus Scrimgeour had turned up an hour later with a couple of Aurors in tow. She had smirked all through Defence Against the Dark Arts whilst Umbridge sat before her with a face like thunder. And she had whooped and swung Neville around in delight when the news reached them after dinner that Theodore and company had been taken out of school.

Though a suspension was for from an actual expulsion, and certainly no where near an arrest, Alaw had decided to celebrate anyway. She felt that with a war looming, opportunities to party would be few and far between and they must seize every chance that came their way. The Weasley twins had risen to the occasion as usual, with three crates of contraband Butterbeer from the kitchens, as well as sandwiches, crisps, miniature pork pies and cocktail sausages, and a few of their own Weasleys Wildfire Wizzbangs.

The room itself had provided them with a magical record player, but no records, so Hermione had dashed back to Gryffindor Tower to bring a selection. Now they were all swaying along to Fat Bottomed Girls and Hermione was actively dancing with Neville, which made Alaw smile. Susan came to join Alaw at the little clutch of sofas and armchairs in the corner.

"That was very well done," she said approvingly and Alaw chuckled.

"Thanks. I can't tell you how pleased I am to get that bastard out of our hair."

The only thing dampening the party for her somewhat was the persistent twinging in her chest. Somewhere out there, Voldemort was in a towering temper. She just hoped he took it out on Theodore and no one innocent. Susan perched herself on the edge of the sofa and took a sip of Butterbeer.

"Well I'm just glad we got aunty on side. There's no way Fudge will be able to deny that You-Know-Who is back now."

"Want a bet?" Alaw laughed bitterly. "Denial is a powerful thing. But at least this'll convince the more sensible people at the Ministry. Plus, they can't cover this one up. Too many students saw it, I bet most of them have already written home about it."

Hannah came to join the conversation.

"We need to get in touch with more people at the Ministry, as many people as possible if you ask me."

"I was thinking about Barty Crouch," Alaw admitted. "Last May, when all this first kicked off, he didn't seem to side with Fudge much. And he's in a good position as head of International Cooperation."

To her surprise, Susan pulled a face.

"Oh I think we can do better than him, Alaw. According to aunty, he's a nasty piece of work."

"Really?" asked Alaw, setting her Gillywater aside. "Why? What's he done?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but he and aunty don't get on at all. He's very hard-line. Strict. He used to be really competent and people wanted him to be Minister for Magic when the war ended, but then his son went to Azkaban for being mixed up with the Death Eaters. He never got over it, especially when his wife died right after."

Alaw's shoulders slumped. She'd been somewhat banking on Barty Crouch being on their side. He was highly placed in the Ministry and he was tied in with her plans to bring about a reconciliation with Percy. Percy worshipped the man, if he supported them, perhaps Percy would find it in his heart to come home.

"Oh," Alaw said, disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll just have to think about it some more. Not tonight obviously, tonight we're celebrating."

She picked up her drink and got up to go and choose a record from among Hermione's collection.

The Flames had a raucous evening in the Room of Requirement, they drank and danced well into the early hours of the morning. By four however, only Alaw, Hermione, Ron and Neville remained in the room, lounging on the sofas and yawning hugely.

"I might make a move," said Hermione, getting up and stretching. "I know tomorrow is Sunday but I was hoping to get a wiggle on with that Charms essay."

Before she could move however, they all jumped as a voice echoed around the room.

" _Alaw Jones_."

Alaw, who had half-expected this call, leaped up from the sofa and dashed over the corner of the room that held the small potions lab, the cupboard for storing ingredients, and the work bench. It was on this she had placed Sirius' mirror, properly mounted on a stand so it could be used right. Sirius' face was swimming in the glass and as she approached, the image became clearer.

"Alright Sirius?" Alaw asked, grinning. "Calling to congratulate me eh?"

But Sirius wasn't smiling, in fact he looked incredibly grim. He look his head at Alaw.

"You blind bloody fools, what were you thinking?!"

Alaw's smile slipped and she frowned at her godfather.

"What do you mean? I thought you'd be pleased, we got the bastards! We caught them red handed!"

"Why do you think Dumbledore hadn't done anything about Nott and his friends? He didn't want to shake things up so soon!" Sirius cried. "The Order of the Phoenix is no where near ready to take Voldemort on properly, so Dumbledore was playing the long game, waiting to see what Voldemort's plans might be, instead of charging in head first! Now you've poked the dragon and forced Voldemort to play his hand."

"Why, what's happened?" asked Ron anxiously. He, Neville and Hermione gathered around Alaw who stood there with her arms folded.

"Nothing yet," Sirius conceded. "But it's only a matter of time before he retaliates. He was lying low, gathering his forces, but now you've royally buggered up his plans."

"Good," said Ron and Alaw simultaneously. Alaw was not going to take this telling off lying down, especially when she felt like they'd done a bang up job. Sirius scowled.

"It is not good!" he snapped. "We had an idea of what his plans would be before, but now? He'll be unpredictable, and we might not be able to learn enough before he strikes. You've buggered up Dumbledore's plans as well."

"Even better!" Alaw cried. "Look, we've forced those morons at the Ministry to open their eyes and rid Hogwarts of a particularly nasty little turd, I don't see what the problem was. Theodore was like a cancer in the castle, see we cut it out."

"Alaw," Sirius groaned. "I know you don't like him, but you'd have been better off keeping a low profile and letting the Order deal with things."

"Theodore Nott tried to rape me," Alaw said coldly.

There was a sticky silence following these words. It was hard to tell in the chipped and stained glass of the mirror, but Alaw thought Sirius had gone rather pale.

"He what?" he asked quietly.

"The other night, when we ambushed him and his mates. That was what he was going to do when they caught me, he shouted it at me. And I've overheard him boasting about attacking other girls too. So I don't care if I've buggered up Voldemort and Dumbledore's grand schemes, we're not pawns in their bloody chess game! I care about the here and now, not the 'greater good'."

She sketched air quotes around the words and she could see that Sirius was getting more and more uncomfortable.

"Al," he began weakly but she marched closer to the mirror and leaned in.

"Sirius, I want you to give Dumbledore a message from me, and I want you to use these exact words. If he doesn't start caring about his own students, he can go fuck himself!"

Alaw turned on her heel without giving Sirius a chance to respond and stalked out of the Room of Requirement. _I probably shouldn't have said that_ , thought Alaw as she made her way through the dark corridors and up and down winding staircases. She'd meant every word of course, but Sirius was their only point of contact within the Order and she needed to keep him on side. But what right had he to lecture them about being reckless, after all the things he and the Marauders got up to at school?! After taking a shortcut through a tapestry of a sleeping dragon, Alaw arrived on her corridor where Sir Cadogan was snoozing in his portrait. Instead of disturbing him, Alaw ducked through her invisible Finn's Window and emerged into her darkened bedroom.

Why had Sirius had to call and ruin the evening like that? They'd been having a wonderful time, Alaw had been brimming with triumph, but now all she had was the bloody pain in her chest and the beginnings of a headache. She flung herself on the bed and closed her eyes, trying to imagine how pissed off Voldemort, and Dumbledore, were that night.

* * *

The next day was cold and crisp, but the sun was shining weakly on the grounds as Alaw strode across them, wearing her Slytherin jumper, Muggle jeans and a thick traveling cloak under it Invisible cousin. Her head was little tender after all the drinks last night but her chest was still paining her and she hadn't wanted to stay in bed a moment longer. After grabbing a quick, early breakfast in the Great Hall, she'd decided it was high time she went to see Emrys.

It had rained in the night and the wet grass squeaked under her feet as she walked. The tree tops of the forbidden forest swayed lazily as she approached, but Hagrid's hut remained silent and lifeless. Alaw paused near the front porch and glanced sadly up at the smokeless chimney. Where was Hagrid? According to Sirius, Madam Maxime had arrived back in Beuxbaton safely from her trip to see the giants, but no word had been heard from Hagrid in months. Perhaps the Death Eaters knew something, but if they did, the young ones hadn't mentioned it whenever Alaw had spied on them.

Shaking her head, Alaw continued on her journey and soon gained the peace and quiet of the trees. It suddenly occurred to her that, without Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle to eavesdrop on, Alaw had no way of gathering information about Voldemort's plans anymore. Not that those idiots had ever been privy to their master's schemes. They'd only been useful as thugs and spies. If only Alaw had her own Snape, someone within the Death Eaters who could feed her information. But that kind of power was well beyond her, so she'd have to think of some other way.

When she reached Emrys' clearing, she found his cave empty, though the mangled remains of a squirrel lay abandoned at the entrance. Raising an eyebrow, Alaw stood up tall and turned slowly on the spot, scanning the bushes.

" _I know you're there mate_ ," she called. " _You're not going to jump me this time!_ "

There was silence for a few moments as Alaw continued to peer into the trees, then there was an almighty rustle from above her head and Emrys came swooping down from the branches of a tall oak. Alaw leaped out of the way and Emrys landed with a graceless thump on the forest floor. He righted himself and shoved his head into Alaw's stomach, winding her.

" _Food?_ " he asked eagerly, sniffing her hands and circling around her back.

" _No, not today,_ " she said and Emrys gave a displeased sneeze. His tail had tangled itself around Alaw's legs so she stepped carefully out of the coils and scratched him under the chin and up behind his ears, which he enjoyed.

" _If you can't even sneak up on me, how do you expect to catch a deer? Or a goat?_ " she asked him and Emrys growled low in his throat, affronted at her slight on his stalking skills. " _Anyway, I thought we could try flying today_."

At once, Emrys perked up and he bounced around the clearing, snapping his jaws excitedly. He wasn't much of a talker, but he communicated his feelings well enough with actions. Alaw thought it a good idea to let him exercise as he'd been getting increasingly restless as he approached full adulthood. There was a spot overlooking the lake that Alaw guided him to, a rise in the earth that would provide a good launching point. Emrys was rearing to go but when Alaw took out her wand he backed away and growled suspiciously.

" _Don't worry mate, I won't hurt you. I'm going to put a spell on you that will hide you from other humans. Then you can fly around and no one will see you,"_ Alaw explained.

Emrys was extremely reluctant, but eventually he stayed still long enough for Alaw to cast a Disillusionment charm. She'd got the idea from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, where the author offered advice on how to hide one's pet Hippogriffs from Muggle view. It didn't work exactly as Alaw had envisioned it. She was usually good at Disillusionment charms, she'd made the apple they'd worked on in class so completely invisible that when Crabbe had knocked it spitefully off her table, no one had been able to find it, until Goyle tripped on it and landed on his arse.

But living creatures were harder to hide, especially something as magically powerful as a dragon. Even when completely still, Alaw could clearly see his outline as a blurred disturbance in the air. Ah well, it would have to do. If anyone did happen to look out over the lake this early in the morning, all they would see what something big moving over the water. Hopefully they'd just think it was the Giant Squid.

" _Ok then, you ready?_ " Alaw asked and Emrys bent his scaly front legs to let her scramble onto his back.

She still wasn't entirely comfortable doing this, but Emrys preferred to have her with him when he flew, and it would make him stronger. But there was no real way to sit on his back, which had jagged spines jutting out of it at intervals. Alaw settled herself between two of them and leaned forward to grip another. Again, not the best way to hold on but it was all she could do for now. Hagrid had made noises about crafting her a saddle before he went away but that was no use to her now.

" _Alright, let's go!_ " she cried, steeling herself.

Emrys gave a brief roar, crouched low, and them launched himself from the overhang. He spread his wings wide and soon they were gliding over the surface of the lake. Alaw gasped as the cold air whipped her hair back and made her face numb, but she laughed all the same. Terrifying this may be, but it was exhilarating. Now she could understand why everyone was so obsessed with brooms.

" _Higher!_ " Emrys roared, sweeping his wing down and climbing several feet.

" _No! Stay low, you'll be seen!_ " Alaw shouted back over the rush of the wind.

Emrys growled in frustration but did as she suggested, dropping to dip the tip of his wing into the water. Alaw stretched out a hand and did the same, whooping gleefully. But then, suddenly, Emrys rolled over in mid-air and Alaw slipped off his back to land with a splash in the lake. She kicked for the surface and emerged spluttering in cold and shock. Emrys had looped back around the hover in the air above her, his wings flapping furiously to keep himself steady.

" _You utter shit, you did that on purpose! Bad dragon!_ " Alaw laughed.

Half an hour later Alaw returned to the castle, still a little damp from her dip in the lake. Emrys had made her swim back to the shore where she found him snorting his dragonish laugh. He'd stopped when she splashed water at him. Her drying and warming charms hadn't worked perfectly so Alaw was shivering by the time she reached the Entrance Hall, where she found an unusually high volume of people standing in groups and talking among themselves. The Great Hall was packed for breakfast and when she peered inside she spotted Hermione, Neville and the Weasleys at the Gryffindor table, so she went to join them.

"What happened to you?" asked Neville in surprise when Alaw sat down next to him. "Why are you all wet?"

"Dragon trouble. Anyway, what's all the buzz about?"

The others exchanged dark looks and Hermione handed Alaw a copy of the Daily Prophet. Alaw took one look at the headline and swore colourfully.

 **MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM: DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR**

Alaw's eyes swept down the article, a new curse escaping her lips with every other sentence read.

"We hand them three honest to god Death Eaters on a frigging _plate_ , and this is their response?!" she said when she'd finished reading and slammed the paper down on the table. "It's a joke! A fucking joke!"

She wasn't exactly being quiet and many people turned to see what all the shouting was about. Hermione flapped her hand at her to make her pipe down and Alaw sat on the bench, seething. Ron however, smiled.

"I can't wait to see McGonagall inspected. Or Snape! Umbridge won't know what hit her."

"She will if I loose it and punch her in the teeth," said Alaw darkly.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 **An Inconvenient Truth**

On Tuesday morning, Alaw came down to the Great Hall for breakfast without the invisibility cloak for the first time in weeks. She knew this was a little reckless, Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle weren't the only Voldemort supporters in the school after all. But Alaw was hoping that, for the time being, the others would be cowed into silence and wouldn't bother her just yet. Most people seemed to have put together that she had something to do with the incident, and as she passed the Slytherin table, many heads turned. Alaw met the stares without flinching. Most of the students turned away and started muttering amongst themselves. Others, like Flora, very deliberately carried on with their normal conversations. Draco was one of the few to hold her gaze. His face, as usual, was hard to read, but Alaw thought there was coldness in his eyes.

Alaw shook her head and moved on to the Gryffindor table where the reception was markedly different. The whispers and stolen glances were excited, even admiring, though a few still glared. Among them were Seamus, Parvati and Lavender, but Alaw ignored them and sat down with Hermione, Neville and the Weasleys. The twins were discussing some sort of prank they had planned for Umbridge.

"The door is no good, I checked last night, she's Imperturbed it," Fred was saying gravely as he helped himself to kippers.

"We could try the window," George suggested. "You know, levitate the little guy in."

"What are you talking about?" Alaw asked as she moved the Daily Prophet out of the way in search of the toast rack. Fred grinned wickedly.

"We just got ourselves a Niffler. They wreck houses, so we're going to put one in Umbridge's office so it can tear it apart."

"Low-tech, simple, I like it," said Alaw approvingly. Ron glowered darkly over his cup of tea.

"I still say you should use those Skiving Snackboxes of yours on her, after what she did to Al. Poison the bitch."

"Ron!" Hermione cried, looking shocked.

"I'm not saying kill her," said Ron, waving his teaspoon dismissively. "I'm just saying make her sick as a dog so she has to leave."

"As much as I like that plan, I don't see how we'd pull it off without getting caught, short of me putting on the cloak, sneaking up to the staff table and spiking her pumpkin juice. Even if she doesn't notice me, one of the others will."

Alaw glanced up at the teachers as she said this and then did a double take. Professor Flitwick was talking very seriously to Snape about something, Dumbledore was tucking into his scrambled eggs, Professors McGonagall and Sprout were both reading the paper, but Umbridge's chair was empty.

"Where's the old hag gone now?" George asked suspiciously.

"Probably planning her inspections," said Neville wisely and they all exchanged dark looks. No wonder some of the teachers were looking downright mutinous that morning. None of them would relish the idea of Umbridge breathing down their necks whilst they taught. They spent the rest of breakfast discussing plans to cause Umbridge as much misery as possible. Fred and George had some wonderfully evil ideas involving portable swamps and George was just explaining how they worked when he stopped talking abruptly. A shadow fell across the table and they all looked around to find Argus Filch, the caretaker, standing over them. He smiled spitefully.

"Professor Umbridge wants to see you in her office, Jones," he said. An unpleasant chill settled in Alaw's stomach and she shared a worried look with her friends.

"What does she want with her?" Ron asked boldly and Filch's watery eyes settled on him.

"That's not really any of your business is it, Weasley?"

Ron and Neville both stood up from the bench.

"We're going with her," said Neville, a determined set to his jaw. Filch's jowls quivered in indignation.

"Professor Umbridge said I was to fetch Jones, and only Jones.

Alaw sighed and wiped her mouth and hands on a napkin before getting up.

"It's alright. You lot have lessons to get to anyway."

She gave them all a reassuring nod before following Filch out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. It looked like Umbridge had adopted Filch as her pet which bode ill for the Flames. Filch knew more school gossip than anyone and his knowledge of the castle's secret passages was rivaled only by the Weasley twins. As they approached Umbridge's office, Alaw's feeling of disquiet increased. She hadn't been near the place since she had stormed out of her detention at the beginning of term. Filch knocked and a sugary voice came from the other side.

"Come in."

As always, that voice made Alaw's skin crawl. Filch opened the door and ushered Alaw inside.

"The Jones girl for you ma'am," Filch simpered.

"Ah, thank you very much Argus. You may leave us now," said Umbridge. She was sitting behind her desk and as Filch closed the door behind him, she smiled sweetly at Alaw.

"Take a seat, Miss Jones."

Alaw dropped into the chair before the desk and her eyes swept the room. There was no sign of the blood quill.

"What would you like to drink, dear?" Umbridge asked and Alaw's attention snapped back to her.

"What?" she asked, nonplussed.

"A drink, dear. What would you like? I have tea, or coffee, or pumpkin juice perhaps?"

Alaw's mouth opened slightly as she had to hold back a laugh. The gall of this woman was unbelievable.

"I don't want a drink," Alaw said in as measured a tone as she could manage. Umbridge's eyes narrowed.

"Come now, you must have a drink."

"No, I don't think I do. I just had breakfast."

The atmosphere in the office became decidedly chillier and Umbridge shifted in her chair.

"Very well," she said, still smiling, though now it looked more threatening. "I suppose that, as a Muggle-born, you haven't been taught a witch's courtesy."

 _Bite me, bitch_ , Alaw thought.

"I have some questions for you, Miss Jones, regarding the attack on your housemates on Saturday evening. Now, I know you know something about it."

"Has Theodore accused me, Professor?" Alaw asked innocently. It was quite amusing to watch Umbridge's blood pressure rising.

"Evidence has come to light, pointing to your involvement," she growled.

Well, that was a load of bullshit right there. Ginny had placed a highly potent tongue-tying curse on the Slytherins so that they couldn't reveal who had attacked them, even if they wanted to.

"Are they really Death Eaters, Professor?" Alaw asked, unable to resist poking the dragon a little more. Umbridge's nostrils flared and her cheeks went white.

"I am asking the questions here, young lady," she snapped.

"But, some people told me that they had Dark Marks on their arms. Only Death Eaters have them, and they're too young to have had them from the first war."

"Enough!" Umbridge cried and Alaw bit her lip to stifle a smirk. All humour fled however when Umbridge got up, stalked around the desk and placed her stubby fingers on either side of Alaw's chair. Alaw pressed back, away from Umbridge who loomed menacingly over her.

"I know it was you who attacked those boys, Jones. I know it was you who put those ugly marks on their arms. And I know you're working with Dumbledore to undermine the Ministry and cause a widespread panic."

Alaw had had enough of being bullied. She stood up suddenly and glared at the older witch, whom she was at least half a foot taller than.

"I did not attack those boys, I'm not working with Dumbledore, and I'm not trying to overthrow the bloody Ministry. If you weren't certifiably insane, you'd see that. I'm trying to warn people that Voldemort is back in the country and you're as good as helping him! You should be tracking down his Death Eaters, not faffing about with Dumbledore!"

"Fifty points from Slytherin!" Umbridge cried. "And a week's worth of detentions."

Alaw really did laugh out loud this time and she turned and left the office without a backwards glance.

* * *

Alaw arrived early for Charms and had already taken out her books and writing equipment when her friends joined her.

"Guess what?" Ron asked in an undertone as he dropped into the seat on Alaw's left. "We just had an inspected lesson."

Alaw looked up from her textbook alertly.

"Really? What was it like?"

"Not good," said Ron gravely. "Umbridge is on the warpath today."

"It was terrible," Neville chipped in, leaning around Hermione. "She kept following Professor Burbage around the room, interrupting her to ask her all these stupid questions."

"Umbridge said she was surprised that Muggle Studies was still being taught. Apparently, they've been talking about scrapping it," said Ron and Hermione gave an angry chuff. Alaw fidgeted guiltily.

"Ah, it might be my fault that Umbridge is pissed off today. I kind of shouted at her this morning."

Before Hermione could do more than frown sternly at Alaw, Professor Flitwick climbed up onto his podium.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, we'll be continuing our work on Healing Charms today," he told the assembled students. Alaw immediately felt awkward. She'd been so busy with the Flames that she hadn't attended any of the practise sessions set up by the other Prefects and it showed. Flitwick gave them all a numbing ointment to put on their arms today, as they would be learning to heal deeper cuts. Alaw had real trouble closing her wound and Professor Flitwick tutted after watching her struggle for a while.

"Not your best work, Miss Jones," he said, shaking his head before moving on to see how Neville was doing. Alaw was feeling highly embarrassed by the end of the lesson and it only grew worse when Flitwick asked her and Draco to remain behind. Once the rest of the students had shuffled out, Flitwick fixed them both with a stern look.

"Now, I've had a word with Cho about you two," he said. "She tells me that neither of you has helped to organise the practise sessions for healing."

Alaw felt her cheeks grow hot and she fiddled with the handle of her wand whilst Draco looked down at his feet.

"Now I know you both have a lot on your minds at the moment, but Professor Snape placed a lot of trust in you when he chose you to be Prefects. I expected better. Especially since you're both so gifted with Charms work."

"Sorry Professor," Alaw mumbled. "We'll do better, I promise."

"Good. We'll say no more about this. I expect you to have organised at least one study session before our next lesson. Draco, you know to speak to Professor Snape if you need more numbing potion."

Draco nodded, still studying his shoelaces. Professor Flitwick dismissed them and Alaw tried to leave the classroom without dying of embarrassment.

* * *

That afternoon, Alaw made her way to the library on a mission. The Flames had decided that Barty Crouch would not make a good ally for them and that they should not contact him, but Alaw still had her doubts. He had been an important figure during the first war, tough on Death Eaters and a symbol of hope for many. But he'd fallen from grace after his son was sent to Azkaban and Alaw wanted to know the full details before she dismissed him from her plans completely. In a dusty and seldom-used corner of the library, Alaw tracked down the old Wizengamot court records. She'd used these before when she'd been investigating Igor Karkarof, and his lucky escape from justice. Barty Crouch Jr had been committed to Azkaban right at the end of the war, after Voldemort had supposedly died and many of his followers had been rounded up or bailed out by their rich families. It only took Alaw five minutes to locate the file she needed.

 _ **Minutes of the trail of Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange and Bartemius Crouch Jr.**_

Alaw's smile of triumph faded slightly as she registered the other names on the page. She remembered standing in the drawing room in Grimmauld Place, studying the tapestry depicting the Black family tree. She remembered seeing the name Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black, the sister of Narcissa and Andromeda. So, Barty Crouch Jr had been tried alongside Draco's aunt and uncle, presumably for the same crime, whatever that had been. Alaw resisted the temptation to read further and tucked the file safely under her arm along with several others she had collected concerning former Death Eaters.

As she made her way out into the main study area of the library she caught sight of a group of Slytherins, including Pansy Parkinson, grouped around a table by the check-in desk. A few heads turned towards her and she was met with the usual hostile glares. Alaw barely spared them a glance, as her attention fixed on a table at the other end of the room, over by the quiet Arithmancy section. Draco was there, sitting alone as he often did these days, scratching out notes with a handsome eagle feather quill. Alaw made her way purposefully over to him and stood before the table, but Draco didn't acknowledge her presence until she coughed pointedly.

"What do you want, Mudblood?" he asked boredly, not looking up from his work.

"You don't have to call me that, that lot are too far away to hear you. We need to talk about these study sessions for Charms."

With a pained sigh, Draco put down his quill and raised his eyes to meet Alaw's. _Why does he have to be so gorgeous even when he's being a pain in the arse?_ Alaw thought irritably.

"What's the matter? Scared that Flitwick is going to dock a few points?" Draco sneered and Alaw scowled.

"No," she said through gritted teeth. "I just want to start taking my work seriously. We're the Slytherin Prefects, so organising the Slytherins is our responsibility."

Draco picked up his quill again, inked it and returned to his essay, looking supremely unconcerned.

"Pucey and Higgs can handle it. I've got a lot going on at the moment."

Alaw's frown deepened. Adrian Pucey and Phoebe Higgs were the fourth year Slytherin Prefects.

"We're supposed to be in charge of the third years, not them," Alaw protested. "Come on! Do you really want to fail this class? I thought you were looking at being a Healer once we leave school."

Draco grimaced and huffed again.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, fine! Stop hovering and sit down then. Let's get this over with."

With a smug grin, Alaw set her Wizengamot files down and pulled out a chair.

"Right," she said, taking her planner out of her bag and flicking through it. "How about…tomorrow evening?"

"No good, I'm having dinner with Pansy in the village."

Draco sounded less than enthusiastic about this and Alaw raised an eyebrow before glancing over her shoulder at the table of Slytherins. Pansy was glaring over at Alaw and Draco suspiciously.

"So, the engagement isn't going too well then?" Alaw asked and Draco glanced up at her.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you're not sitting with Pansy for a start."

Draco also looked over at his fiance before making a meal of searching the index of his textbook.

"Keep your nose out of other people's business, Mudblood. You've caused enough trouble lately. Now can we please just pick a day for this stupid study group? What about lunchtime tomorrow?"

Alaw hummed and looked down at her planner.

"I could do that," she mused. "Actually, that would be really good because I think the Hufflepuffs are having their session then too, we could work with them. I'll talk to Hannah and Earnie."

"And I suppose I'll have to be the one to tell the Slytherins the plan," Draco complained.

"Probably best if you do," Alaw agreed. "Some of them might die of shock if a Mudblood talks to them."

The corner of Draco's mouth twitched in the ghost of a smile and Alaw jotted down the plan in her diary, feeling a wave of relief that they had managed to sort something out whilst being at least vaguely civil to one another. As she was putting her planner away in her bag, some of the records she'd set down slipped off the table.

"Bollocks," Alaw muttered, bending down the retrieve them. One file had flipped under Draco's chair and he scooped it up. As he was handing it back however, his eyes fell on the Ministry symbol stamped on the cover.

"These are trial transcripts," he said, frowning. "What do you need these for?"

"Research," Alaw shrugged evasively. She made to take the file from Draco but he jerked it out of her reach and opened it to look at the front page.

"I knew it!" he snarled in disgust. "You're butting into Death Eater business again, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?" Alaw snapped, lunging forward to snatch the file out of Draco's hand. "Did you really expect me to sit on my backside and do nothing with Voldemort on the prowl?"

Draco flinched as if she'd made to hit him, and then he glared at her. He seemed about to say something when he looked up over Alaw's shoulder and shut his mouth quickly. Alaw turned to find Snape standing over her.

"Miss Jones," the Potions master said in a chilly voice. "Would you care to explain to me why you have been given detention every night this week?"

For a moment, Alaw's mind went blank and she stared at her head of house in confusion. Then she remembered the row with Umbridge that morning.

"Oh," she said. "Yeah, I kind of had a - disagreement, with Professor Umbridge."

Snape's dark eyes flashed and he leaned down a little and dropped his voice.

"You really do astound me, Jones. It would seem that you really are as stupid as you come off. I expressly told you not to antagonise Dolores Umbridge."

"You're not going to make me do the detentions?" Alaw asked incredulously. "Not after what happened last time? The woman's a psychopath!"

Snape's lip curled into a sneer.

"The High Inquisitor has instructed me to oversee your detentions on her behalf and I expect you to attend each and every one of them. Starting tonight. In one hour, you will go to the Potions classroom. There are some cauldrons that need scrubbing."

"But Sir! I've got a ton of stuff to do. You're not seriously listening to that crazy bitch?!" Alaw protested, furious at the injustice of it all. Snape glared at her.

"One. Hour," he growled menacingly. He then swept away, his black robes swirling around him and making him look like a melodramatic bat. Alaw slumped in her chair.

"Son of a bitch," she griped.

"Well, that'll teach you not to piss of Umbridge, won't it?" said Draco, without a trace of sympathy and Alaw turned to glower at him.

"She's only doing this because I wouldn't drink her stupid Veritaserum."

That surprised Draco enough to make him look up from his essay.

"You're not serious," he said and Alaw nodded firmly.

"Totally serious. I told you, the woman is a nutcase! Snape should be telling her to shove it, not going along with her craziness."

Draco's mouth tightened and he turned his quill over and over in his hand.

"I thought she was angry about the whole situation with Theodore and the others," he admitted.

"Oh she is, that's what she was trying to get me to confess to. Cause, you know, that's the important thing right now, not the fact that there were three dirty Death Eaters running around the castle."

Draco stopped turning the quill and fixed Alaw with a truly icy glare.

"And what exactly did your little stunt achieve? Hmm? What have you actually accomplished?"

Alaw was taken aback by his sudden anger.

"Well, we got Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle kicked out of Hogwarts," she said and Draco snorted.

"Yes, and a fat lot of good it's done. The Ministry still don't believe you, and Umbridge is livid."

Alaw shook her head and stared at Draco with a frown etched on her forehead and her mouth slightly open.

"I don't get you at all. I thought you weren't friends with that lot anymore. Why are you getting arsey with me?"

"Oh you stupid - you think this has anything to do with who you're friends with?! Do you have any idea what sort of position you've put me in?"

Draco snatched up his book and stuffed it into his bag before getting up from the table. He leaned down and hissed,

"Though I suppose you wouldn't give a damn what happened to a dirty Death Eater, would you?"

As he stormed off, Alaw remained frozen to her chair and a large weight settled in her stomach. Hating herself for it, she made a mental note to put a confirmation tick against Draco's name on the Flames' list of potential Death Eaters. After watching Draco disappear through the library doors, Alaw noticed Pansy looking her way, now with a smug smirk on her face. Alaw's fist clenched and her blood boiled.

* * *

After wasting her entire Tuesday evening in Snape's classroom, trying to shift some foul smelling sludge from the bottom of a cauldron bigger than she was, Alaw was not in the best of moods. It didn't help that Umbridge seemed to have set Argus Filch to tailing Alaw wherever she went. Filch was mopping the floor outside the Ancient Runes classroom when Alaw entered it for her first lesson of the day and he was still there when the bell rang an hour later. After having him shadow her all morning, Alaw became fed up and donned the old invisibility cloak so she could escape and make her way to the Great Hall and eat her lunch in peace. She was just making herself a cheese sandwich when Neville looked up from the textbook he was sharing with Hermione.

"Don't you have that Charms study thing now?" he asked curiously and Alaw choked on her pumpkin juice.

"Oh bollocks! Thanks for reminding me."

Grabbing her sandwich, Alaw scrambled off the bench and bolted out of the Great Hall. The Hufflepuffs had found an empty classroom on the ground floor for the practise session and they and a handful of Slytherins were already there when Alaw practically fell through the door.

"Sorry!" she gasped, clutching her sandwich in one hand and a stitch in her side with the other. "I uh, I just stopping in the Great Hall to grab some food."

Cedric Diggory looked up from healing a cut on Ernie's hand.

"Oh there was no need, we brought lunch in with us."

He indicated a big platter on the table between them all, containing bread rolls and lunch-meats, as well as salad and two-dozen boiled eggs.

"Never mind, you're here now. We've all partnered up already I'm afraid, but Draco's got the numbing potion from Professor Snape," said Hannah.

Alaw sat down and put her battered cheese sandwich to one side.

"Can I borrow that please?" she asked Draco politely, gesturing to the earthenware pot near his elbow. Draco pushed it towards her wordlessly and kept working on the cut on Pansy's arm. As Alaw rubbed the ointment, which smelled strongly of sage, onto her skin, she saw Pansy sweep a strand of Draco's hair back from his forehead.

"You look so serious when you're casting," she said soppily. Draco gave a quick shake of his head to dislodge her hand.

"Stay still," he said irritably.

The numbing potion worked quickly, after poking her arm to ensure all feeling was gone, Alaw picked up her potions knife.

"Whoa there, how about you let me do that?" Cedric asked hastily. "We don't want any accidents."

Since she hadn't been too keen on slicing open her own skin, Alaw gratefully let Cedric take over. He made a clean, two-inch long incision and gave her plenty of gauze to mop up the blood before letting her attempt the spell.

"It'll be nice to go into the village tonight. We haven't had time for just the two of us in ages," said Pansy, drawing Alaw's eyes back to her and Draco. Draco acknowledged this statement with a nondescript hum. Shaking her head, Alaw tried to concentrate on her work.

" _Conprimo_ ," she said, swishing her wand tip over the cut. It healed a little, the blood flowing more sluggishly, but it wasn't exactly a good casting. It didn't help that Pansy's next words were extremely distracting. From the corner of her eye, Alaw saw her lean in close to whisper, not exactly quietly, into Draco ear,

"You know, after dinner, you can come back to my room and we can have some fun."

There were a few sniggers around the table as Draco's cheeks turned a little pink and Alaw's grip on her wand tightened.

" _Conprimo!_ " she snapped, but the spell had no effect this time.

"Careful Jones, you don't want to get mud-blood all over the place. We'll need to deep clean the table to get rid of the stink," Pansy called maliciously. Cedric's head snapped around and he was on the scene in moments.

"Hey now, none of that," he said sharply. "I don't want that sort of talk in here. If you carry on like that I'll have to ask you to leave, and you can explain to Professor Flitwick why you haven't been practising."

Pansy shrugged, unconcerned, and turned her attention back to not very subtly stroking Draco's thigh under the table. Alaw glared down at her wand to avoid looking at this nauseating display and made some very quick decisions in her mind.

* * *

That night, Alaw found herself back in the potions lab for her second night of detention. Snape had set her to cutting up a mountain of horseradish before disappearing in the direction of his office. Alaw had barely begun and her nose was beginning to itch from the smell.

"Fucking hell," she muttered irritably, pausing in her work to wipe her face with her elbow. She'd just picked up her knife again when the door of the classroom opened and Draco walked in with his potions kit under one arm. He froze when he saw her.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked sharply and Alaw lifted a horseradish.

"I've got detention haven't I? You?"

Draco glanced down at the leather case he was carrying.

"Snape asked me to brew some more numbing ointment for Charms," he explained grudgingly.

They looked at each other for a moment, neither sure what to say. In the end, Alaw simply decided to get on with her cutting and leave Draco to it. Draco followed suit, walking over to his usual station and lighting a fire beneath his cauldron with a wave of his wand. They worked in silence for several minutes, the only sounds in the room were the slicing of Alaw's knife and the faint clinking of crystal vials as Draco measured out his ingredients. He had just reached the stage where he needed to let his potion simmer when Alaw, not really paying proper attention to what she was doing, let her knife slip.

"Fuck!" she cried, dropping the blade and clutching the deep gash in her finger. It was so painful she was sure she'd cut right to the bone.

"What the hell have you done now?" Draco called, just barely up from the bubbles forming on the surface of his potion. When he saw Alaw's pronounced distress however he turned fully towards her. "Bloody hell woman, you're a complete disaster!" he cried, hurrying around the work benches and drawing his wand.

"No wait, it's fine, I'm fine," Alaw said, gritting her teeth against the pain even as tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "I can heal it myself."

"The hell you can, put the wand down you idiot, you can't just heal that right away. You need to clean it. Come here."

Draco hooked his foot around the leg of a stool and dragged it over for Alaw to sit on before going to the cabinets behind the teachers desk. He rummaged through them and stood up holding a bottle and a clean rag.

"Sit down, come on, don't be a moron," he said irritably when he saw she hadn't moved.

After hesitating, Alaw did as she was bid and settled herself on the stool. Draco pressed the rag to the mouth of the bottle and tipped it up to get some of the liquid out.

"Alright, this is going to sting, a lot," he said once he'd set the bottle aside. "But it's great for cleaning cuts. Give me your hand."

Still quite reluctant, Alaw extended her arm and Draco gingerly took hold of her wrist. Alaw whined when he started wiping the rag over the cut but she did her best to stay still and not squirm.

"Alright, now I can heal it for you," he said after he'd thoroughly disinfected the area. He tossed the rag away and caught up his wand. "It might take a while, you really got yourself here."

Because he was no longer trying to stop her from pulling away, Draco's grip on her wrist loosened and he simply held her hand steady. He kept his gray eyes fixed on her cut, moving his wand back and forth after it and murmuring under his breath. Alaw watched him in silence for a while, trying to ignore how his touch was making her skin tingle.

Stop it, she told herself sternly, just stop. It's never going to happen.

"Why aren't you in the village with Pansy?" she asked to break the awkward silence. Draco's mouth twisted into a humourless smile.

"She's feeling a bit under the weather," he said shortly and Alaw couldn't help but smirk. Yes, a handful of Puking Pastels dissolved in one's afternoon tea will do that.

"You don't seem very sorry you had to cancel your plans," Alaw said carefully and Draco shrugged.

"I didn't really want to go in the first place. She's tedious company."

"Then why are you marrying her?"

Draco paused, and then lifted his gaze to meet Alaw's.

"It's not like I have much choice in the matter. There's a lot of things I don't have a choice in anymore," he said pointedly and Alaw let out a sad sigh.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I know you don't want this. And I'm sorry if we caused problems for you, you know, with the whole Theodore thing. But he really was a complete bastard and everyone here is better off without him. You don't know what he tried to do."

Draco's eyes went back to Alaw's hand, now healed. But he didn't immediately let go on her.

"I do know," he muttered, now seemingly unable to look Alaw in the face. "I know. And I'm glad you got him first. But - you should leave now. Please, it's not safe for us to talk. Not even in private."

Alaw wanted to stay, in fact, there were a lot of things she wanted to do in that moment. She wanted to take Draco's face in her hands and kiss him, she wanted to ask him to join the Flames, to abandon Voldemort and all his vile machinations. She wanted to tell him how she felt about him. But she didn't do any of those things. She took her hand out of his, turning it so that their fingertips brushed over each other for just a brief moment.

"I'm supposed to finish cutting those roots," she said, nodding over to the plants. Draco pointed his wand at them and muttered a spell, causing the knife to begin cutting to roots of its own accord.

"I won't tell Snape I helped you. Please leave. Now."

Draco turned his back on Alaw and walked away towards his potion. The helpless weight had settled back on Alaw's shoulders again and she left the room without saying another word.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note - WARNING - Explicit sexual content at the end of the chapter, skip if you're uncomfortable, it won't make you lost for the rest of the story I promise. Also I make reference to Summerisle's, a location from a favourite fanfiction of mine, The Best Revenge by** Arsinoe de Blassenville.

 **Chapter 18**

 **October Scandals**

By the end of the week, it seemed that every single teacher at Hogwarts was ready to throttle Dolores Umbridge. Alaw had witnessed two inspections, one during Herbology and the other during Transfiguration. Both Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall had answered Umbridge's pestering questions curtly whilst their students peeked at them over their work. Umbridge seemed more interested in any ties the teachers had to Dumbledore than actually assessing how good they were at running a classroom. Hardly any of the questions had pertained to exam scores or lesson plans.

It had been a stressful few days for everyone and Alaw climbed up to Room of Requirement on Friday on weary feet. Her detentions with Snape were finally over and she was grateful to be able to collapse onto the sofa in front of the fire and kick off her shoes. For a few minutes she simply sat there with her eyes closed, listening to the crackling of the logs and the faint hammering of rain on the window panes.

She was very tired, she really wanted to have a hot bath and go to bed, but there was work to be done. Reluctantly, she got up from the sofa and went to sit at the table where the stack of Wizengamot records waited. She hadn't had a chance to do more than glance at them all week. Yawning silently, Alaw arranged her notebook, picked up a biro and opened the first file. At first, Alaw simply skimmed the report, her head resting heavily in her hand as she fought to stay awake. But then, a pair of names caught her eye and she sat up strait, reading the sentence back to make sure she'd understood it.

' _We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror – Frank Longbottom – and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the continuing survival of your master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.'_

' _Father, I didn't! I didn't, I swear it, Father, don't send me back to the Dementors.'_

' _You are further accused of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, Alice Longbottom, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led when he was alive.'_

Alaw felt a complete fool. She knew of course that Neville's parents had died during the war, Theodore had taunted him about it back in their first year. But she hadn't known they'd been tortured first, or who the Death Eaters responsible were. Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius' cousin, her husband Rodolphus, his brother Rabastan, and Mr Crouch's son, who according to the trial notes had only been twenty-one at the time. As Alaw read through the rest of the file more closely, her feeling of disquiet increased. Barty Crouch Jr kept interrupting his father, begging for mercy, appealing to his mother, screaming that he hadn't been involved. Mr Crouch didn't seem to have heeded his son's pleas for he sentenced him and the other three on trial to life in Azkaban.

A sudden chill ran down Alaw's spine as she read Bellatrix Lestrange's final words to the court, her dire warning that Voldemort would return. Alaw now realised just how cold it was in the Room of Requirement and she got up from the table, rubbing her arms to warm them. She walked over to the fireplace and caught up the poker to bring some life back into the crackling logs. No wonder Hannah and Susan had been so against contacting Crouch. His words in the trial were cold and utterly without pity for his own child. Alaw put down the poker and stared into the flames for a long while, thinking.

She didn't want someone like Crouch as their ally, and the rest of the Flames had voted against it. But they needed powerful friends in the Ministry. There hadn't been a word all week from the Daily Prophet or on the wireless about Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle, even though it was still the hottest piece of gossip in the castle. Umbridge had taken to giving out detentions to anyone she heard discussing the incident. Fudge's influence over the news was frightening, as was his determination to shut his eyes to the truth. Alaw felt she had no choice but to turn to others within the Ministry.

Making her decision, she turned away from the fire and fetched parchment and quill, re-seating herself at the table. She paused, thinking carefully how she would phrase her letter, and then dipped her quill into the ink.

* * *

Rain hammered against the high windows of Malfoy Manner, but the study was filled with warm light from the fire. Nagini was curled up contentedly before it whilst her master sat behind the desk. He held a letter in one hand and his long white fingers traced the words written on it, a gleeful smile curling his lipless mouth. He read the message again.

 _Dear Mr Crouch,_

 _I am writing to you in the hope that you are wiser than your colleagues at the Ministry. You will no doubt have heard about the incident last Saturday at Hogwarts involving three students who were found to bear the Dark Mark. I have been disappointed by the lack of response from the Ministry, though I imagine that it Fudge's doing. I know that you have dedicated your life to fighting the Dark Arts and I believe that we can work together in these dangerous times. I would be grateful if you would agree to meet with me soon, so we may discuss the situation face to face._

 _Yours Sincerely,_

 _Alaw Jones_

Voldemort laid the letter down on the desk and chuckled quietly to himself. His operation hadn't been going as well as he had hoped the past few weeks. Avery was suspended from the Wizengamot so he had little inside information there, and some of the new recruits had stupidly got themselves caught at Hogwarts. Voldemort had been particularly livid about that, he had expressly warned them not to draw too much attention to themselves so soon. Their mission had been simply to field support among other likely pureblood heirs and heiresses at the school, not to harass the Mudbloods and Blood Traitors so openly. At least Lucius' son had had more sense than his friends, though Voldemort still wondered if young Draco was more frightened than cunning. Only time would tell.

But now, at last, a stroke of good luck. Alaw Jones was playing right into his hands without even knowing it. Voldemort had to admire her initiative, it sounded as she had been responsible for the capture of his Death Eaters, not Dumbledore had he had first thought. He would have to probe deeper, but there appeared to be a definite rift between the headmaster and his student, a rift the Dark Lord was certain he could exploit if he was subtle enough.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Alaw had herself a well-earned lie in. It was nearing noon by the time she got out of bed and started making herself a pot of tea in the living room. She'd just put the kettle over the fire to boil when Sir Cadogan clanked into a painting of a desolate moor over the bookshelf.

"My lady," he said, bowing clumsily. "Forgive me, but there is a maiden outside our chambers seeking entry. She claims to be a friend of yours, and that you wished to speak to her."

"Who is it?" Alaw asked cautiously, not recalling any plans she'd made with Hermione today. Sir Cadogan stumped out of the painting and Alaw waited a few moments until he reappeared, struggling in his heavy armour.

"She says her name is Tracy Davies. With a family name like that, I thought perhaps she hailed from our lands, but her accent betrays her as an Englishwoman."

"Let her in, she is a friend," said Alaw.

Sir Cadogan vanished again and then his own portrait swung open to reveal Tracy, wearing ripped skinny jeans and an ACDC t-shirt.

"Good afternoon," she said cheerfully, stepping into the room and dropping her bag on the sofa. "Pyjama day is it?"

"After the week I've had, I needed it," Alaw explained. She frowned, looking Tracy up and down. "Isn't that Cameron's t-shirt?"

"It is, but he's being all respectable now, isn't he?" said Tracy as she sat down in the armchair. "But he didn't want to get rid of all his cool collectables, so I said I'd look after them for him."

"Ah, poor Cameron," Alaw sighed sadly. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

Tracy indicated her backpack.

"You said you wanted a new tattoo, and I was free today. Unless this isn't a good time?"

"Oh!" Alaw cried, remembering their conversation in the Three Broomsticks. So much had happened in the past week, she'd forgotten all about their little project. "No this is a great time. Uh, have you worked out how much it'll cost?"

"Well, I'm giving you a friends and family discount, but it still won't be cheap I'm afraid, not for a big job like this. Course, magic makes it a lot easier and faster. All together I reckon you're looking at thirty-six Galleons. That's about three hours of work."

Alaw winced at the amount and turned her attention to the whistling kettle to hide her expression. That was a lot of money, but, then again, she didn't really spend much of her student loan here at Hogwarts and this was investment. If it worked, it would mean an extra layer of protection for herself. Tracy seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

"I know it sounds like a lot," she said. "But trust me, if you were just getting a regular muggle tattoo, it would cost a hell of a lot more. A full body job like this would take hours and hours, magic lets us speed things up considerably. And remember there's all the runic work as well. Hey, would you like to see the sketches I've done?"

Tracy pulled a sketchpad out of her bag and flipped through the pages, beckoning Alaw over so she could see it. The moment Alaw saw the beautiful artwork, she was sold.

"That's gorgeous," she said, a grin spreading on her face. "Damn you talented folk. You know, you should totally open a tattoo parlour in Hogsmeade once we graduate."

"I've got tons of ideas," Tracy admitted. "So, do you like it? That price sound fair?"

"Definitely," said Alaw firmly and Tracy beamed, setting the pad down on the coffee table.

"Great. I made Draco give me some of that numbing potion we were using for Charms so you won't even feel a thing. I'll weave in the runes and spells as we go, I've already done some work on the ink. I actually asked Professor Babbling what she thought would be best and she gave me lots of tips. She seemed really keen on the idea actually so fair warning, she might want to see it once it's all finished. Now then, I'd like you in your pants and bra if you please, I'll set everything up."

"Really, at least buy me dinner first," Alaw said with a smirk and Tracy rolled her eyes.

The tattoo came along rather quickly. Tracy was a dab hand with the needle and thanks to the potion, Alaw couldn't barely feel the point as it pricked her skin. Tracy muttered spells under her breath and occasionally waved her wand over the new ink. They chatted whilst Tracy worked, mainly about the ridiculous inspections and Alaw's triumph over Theodore.

"How's Daphne coping these days?" Alaw asked around lunchtime when Tracy took a break and they ate some sandwiches. Tracy grimaced and swallowed her mouthful before answering.

"Not so great. Her parents are dragging her to London tonight to have dinner with Rowle. They're going to that posh place down the bottom of Diagon Alley, you know, Summerisle's."

Alaw had walked past the elegant windows of Summerisle's a few times on her way to and from Gringotts, but she had never been inside. Draco had mentioned it as a favourite place of his to eat and from that, Alaw gathered it was not for the likes of her. An idea occurred to her and she frowned thoughtfully at her pumpkin pasty.

"What time are they meeting there do you know?" she asked carefully and Tracy cocked her head curiously.

"Uh, seven, I think Daphne said. Why?"

"Ah, no reason really," said Alaw dismissively.

She bit into her pasty and ignored Tracy's inquisitive look, even though the idea that had popped into her mind had taken root and was beginning to flower. Two hours, and a lot of work later, Tracy held up a mirror for Alaw to admire her handy-work.

"It's brilliant!" Alaw gushed, turning this way and that to get a proper look. A black snake, glittering faintly when it caught the light, curled around her torso, with its tail wrapped around her left leg. The head rested on her right shoulder and when Alaw moved, the coils of the creature shifted ever so slightly. The eyes blinked when Alaw rubbed the head with her forefinger.

"Tracy, you're a bloody genius!" she crowed gleefully. "And the runes work so well, you can hardly see them!"

Tracy looked immensely pleased with herself and took a camera out of her bag.

"Can I snap a pic to send to my mum? She was super excited when I told her about this," she said and Alaw consented.

"Is that a magical camera?" Alaw asked, eyeing the old-fashioned looking equipment and Tracy nodded. "Huh, can I borrow it? Just for a bit, I'll give it back tomorrow I promise."

Tracy was surprise, but agreed and handed over the camera. It was a small thing, easily tucked into a bag and unlike most magical cameras, it didn't emit a flash or any irritating puffs of smoke, just a quiet click. Yes, just the thing Alaw needed.

* * *

Summerisle's was just as posh on the inside as Alaw had imagined it to be. The central eating area had a marble floor and a domed ceiling of frosted glass. The sky outside was of course dark but a magnificent crystal chandelier emitted a soft light, and every round, white-clothed table had an elegant candelabra resting on it. Alaw sat at one of these tables, concealed beneath the Invisibility Cloak and trying not to squirm. The numbing potion was beginning to wear off and her tattoo was itching. Tracy had given her a special spray to apply before she went to bed which would heal it completely by morning, but until then, Alaw would just have to try not to scratch.

It wasn't quite seven o'clock yet but Alaw had caught the Knight Bus down to London early so she could be here when Daphne and her parents arrived. She was lucky that this table had been free because the one next to it was where Thorfinn Rowle sat waiting for his bride to be. Rowle was a large, muscled man with a mop of blonde hair. As Alaw watched him closely he kept checking his pocket watch with an impatient air. He stood up suddenly and fixed his face into a smile for Daphne had entered the restaurant, along with her mother and father. They were escorted to the table by one of the smartly robed waiters who stepped back tactfully to allow his patrons to greet each other.

Daphne looked quite lovely in forest green dress robes but her smile was definitely forced. Alaw saw her face tighten as Rowle took her hand and kissed it.

 _She's young enough to be your daughter you scumbag_ , Alaw thought bitterly. Pleasantries were exchanged, mainly between Rowle and Daphne's father, and then the family sat down and placed their drinks orders. Alaw felt a pang of sympathy for her friend who looked thoroughly miserable. Her parents didn't seem entirely happy either, her mother in particular kept shooting her husband pointed glances. Once the waiter had bustled away, Rowle turned to Daphne.

"So, how are your studies progressing?" he asked and Daphne looked up from fiddling with her cutlery.

"Fine," she said curtly. Her father glanced at her.

"She's being modest. Professor Snape was very favourable in her last report. You're a fine Potion brewer, aren't you Daphne?"

Daphne gave her father a long suffering look before nodding.

"Yes, but I prefer Quidditch. Flint said I could be a reserve this year. I'm half tempted to jinx one of the Chasers just so I can have a go at actually playing. I was on the school team after all."

"Oh yes, I caught a few of those games," said Rowle. "You were excellent."

The forced conversation was enough to make Alaw cringe, and she wasn't even part of it. She couldn't bring herself to sabotage the meal and embarrass her friend any further so she simply sat back and watched, though her stomach began to growl when the food was brought out. The meals here were as elegant as the décor, Alaw could definitely see Draco enjoying himself. As the icy atmosphere around the next table wasn't much fun to observe, Alaw's attention slipped to the other patrons. All were dressed to the nines, the women wore glittering jewels at their throats and in their hair.

Alaw thought she recognised some of the men and women from the Quidditch games last year, which had been considered fashionable events to attend. There were other, less savoury characters knocking about as well. Across the restaurant she spied George Selwyn eating dinner with a woman Alaw assumed to be his wife. Selwyn was a confirmed Death Eater, the Flames had overheard the Order talking about him on the Extendable Ears and Alaw glared over at him. It angered her that Voldemort's supporters could waltz around in public as they pleased, whilst she had to hide under the cloak all the time.

Alaw was just beginning to think the evening wasted when something rather interesting happened. A new pair of people walked into the restaurant, an elegant older lady, and a young man who, judging by his similar jutting jaw, was probably her son. The pair froze upon seeing George Selwyn and he jerked to his feet. There was a tense moment as the two parties glared at each other. The woman dining with Selwyn reached across the table and gripped his wrist, muttering something under her breath. Slowly, Selwyn sat back down, but continued to glower at the new comers.

Once everything had calmed down and all those who had turned to gawk returned to their meals, Alaw cocked her head. How intriguing, those new people must have been members of the Rosier family. The feud between the Selwyns and Rosiers was legendary, though no one knew what had started it. The most prominent rumour of recent times was that George Selwyn had murdered Morgan Rosier in a duel ten years ago, though no one had been able to prove it. It would be simply _awful_ if evidence of such a crime was presented at the Rosiers' door. If only Alaw had such evidence.

Alaw had thought her evening of reconnaissance done once Daphne and her parents had made their farewells and taken their leave, but she was wrong. After paying for the meal, Rowle stood up and left the restaurant. Alaw followed him, expecting him to disapparate once he was out on the street, but he did not. He began to stroll away down Diagon Alley in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron. Intrigued, Alaw continued after him. Perhaps he was going to meet somebody and her excitement grew at the idea that she might get to witness an honest to god Death Eaters rendezvous. She had borrowed the camera from Tracy, hoping for something just like this.

Once Rowle entered the pub, Alaw expected him to sit at one of the tables, or perhaps to go into one of the private back rooms, but again, she was surprised. Pausing only to greet Tom the barkeep, Rowle carried on through the Leaky Cauldron and out through the front door. Alaw had to hurry to squeeze past the other revellers and keep up with him. Rowle was already making his way down Charring Cross Road by the time Alaw managed to get outside. Where the hell was he going? Where could a wizard go in Muggle London? An awful possibility occurred to Alaw, what if she was going to witness an attack on a Muggle? What would she do? She had her wand with her, but if she used it, she'd be in trouble with the Ministry again.

Alaw followed Rowle for what felt like a long time. She didn't know London very well, but she thought they were now somewhere in Soho, passing groups of laughing Muggles as they enjoyed their Saturday night out. Rowle finally turned into an establishment that made Alaw stop dead in her tracks and stare for a moment. The neon sign on the outside named it _the Cactus Club_ and there was loud Muggle music coming from inside. A bouncer on the door let Rowle pass without question and Alaw slipped by him unnoticed. Inside was dark, the music was pounding in her ears, and on platforms all around the walls, scantily clad women danced and twirled around poles. A strip club, _really?_ And a _Muggle_ strip club at that. Alaw could hardly believe her luck.

Rowle sat down in one of the booths and clicked for a girl to come over to him, waving a wad of twenty pound notes in his hand. Struggling not to laugh in triumph, Alaw pulled out her camera and lined up her shot. This was going to be beyond perfect.

* * *

Halloween was nearly upon them and all around the castle, decorations went up. The Prefects were responsible for organising this and Alaw spent a pleasant afternoon with Ron and Hermione carving enormous pumpkins into jack o'lanterns to float over the four house tables in the Great Hall. Neville had provided the pumpkins, saying Professor Sprout had had him tending them since the beginning of term. But despite the prospect of the party in Hogsmeade, where the Weird Sisters were rumoured to be making an appearance, the only thing anyone could talk about was the Thorfinn Rowle scandal.

Witch Weekly had rarely run such a juicy piece of gossip. An anonymous source had sent them a series of photographs, all depicting Thorfinn Rowle in a Muggle 'house of disrepute', as they had named it. Some of the pictures had needed to be blurred in order to be published and copies of the magazine had been passed gleefully around the school for the students to chortle at. Umbridge had banned it of course, calling it obscene material, and several people had landed in detention with Filch over it. Of course, Rowle hadn't done anything illegal, he hadn't broken the statute of secrecy and cavorting with Muggles was by no means against the law. But it was shocking behaviour of one so high in wizarding society.

The article had just the effect Alaw had been hoping for and she came to know the full impact of her skulduggery one rainy afternoon when she was helping Hermione decorate the banisters of the grand staircase with images of scuttling spiders. Ron had disappeared, saying vaguely that he was going to help Professor Flitwick levitate the pumpkins in the Great Hall. A few students were milling around as dinner had just come to an end so Alaw didn't immediately notice that a couple of people were approaching her. She flourished her wand and caused a group of paper bats she'd made to come to life and flutter up the stairs before turning to find Daphne standing there. Before Alaw could say a word, Daphne had drawn her into a tight embrace. Alaw frowned in confusion over her shoulder at Tracy who was grinning.

"Thank you," Daphne whispered. "I know it was you who sent those pictures. Mum and dad have called off the engagement and mum convinced dad to drop the whole matchmaking angle for good."

She let Alaw go and beamed at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Alaw innocently. "But that's really great news. Besides, you can't get married yet, you're going to play Quidditch for England."

Daphne chuckled but across the Entrance Hall, a jeering voice sounded.

"Yuch, Greengrass, I know you're fiancé has a thing for Muggle scum, but do you really have to go snogging Mud-bloods in front of all of us? Right after we've eaten and everything."

With a resigned sigh, Alaw looked around and found Pansy Parkinson standing over by the stairs leading to the dungeons, along with Hestia Carrow. Daphne had also whipped around and looked ready to say something angry in response when Alaw put a hand on her arm. After giving her a reassuring look, Alaw walked over to Pansy who seemed surprised that Alaw wasn't simply ignoring her or staying among her friends.

"I'm sorry if we made you feel sick, Pansy," she said sweetly, and loudly. "After how terrible you were feeling this past week. Vomiting you're guts up weren't you?"

There were a few sniggers from the onlookers and Pansy flushed in embarrassment. She chose to ignore this and directed her next jab at Daphne again.

"Oh that's right, you don't actually have a fiancé anymore do you? I don't suppose anyone's going to want used goods."

"I never let that creep touch me!" Daphne shot back furiously.

"Of course not, she has some taste," Alaw agreed. "It must suck for you though, Pansy. Imagine having a fiancé who wouldn't shag you for all the gold in Gringotts."

There were true gales of laughter now and Pansy glared daggers at Alaw.

"Everything is great between Draco and I!" she snarled. "You're the pathetic one Jones. I've seen the way you hanker after my man, drooling all over him, it's disgusting. He's mine, and you can't have him."

For some reason her words stung Alaw but she managed to look supremely unconcerned.

"You can keep him and be welcome, if you can manage that of course. From what I can gather, he's taking every opportunity to wriggle out of spending any time with you. Not that I blame him of course."

Pansy whipped out her wand at just the wrong moment, as Professor Flitwick had just emerged from the Great Hall with Snape.

"Now now, none of that. Wand away if you please Miss Parkinson," the diminutive Professor said sharply.

Pansy lowered her wand but did not stow it back in her robes. Her eyes were full of loathing as they glared at Alaw. Professor Flitwick was unhappy with the hostility in the hall.

"Come on Miss Jones, I thought you were helping me with the decorations," he said and Alaw glanced over at him.

"Yes sir, sorry. We're nearly finished." She made as if to go back to her task but at the last second she turned slightly and dropped her voice so that only Pansy could hear, "I'm curious, has Draco actually slept with you yet or does he still cringe at the very thought?"

Pansy whirled around and jabbed her wand at Alaw.

" _Densaugeo!_ " she shrieked.

A jet of purple light streaked across the room and hit Alaw square in the face. She screwed up her eyes and gasped, taking a reflexive step backwards, but the spell had bounced right off her and flew back to strike Pansy. She yowled and her hands flew to her mouth as her teeth began to grow at an alarming rate. The crowd in the Entrance Hall was in stitches though they quietened down and dispersed quickly when they Professors sent them packing. As Professor Snape dealt with Pansy and her new fangs, Flitwick hurried over to Alaw.

"Miss Jones, are you alright?" he asked, looking her over in alarm. "I don't believe my eyes, did you really just perform a wandless, non-verbal shield charm?!"

"Uh, not exactly Professor," Alaw replied mysteriously. Before she could explain further however, Snape had joined them.

"I have sent Miss Parkinson to the Common Room and docked ten points," he said to Flitwick before turning his gaze on Alaw. "As for you Miss Jones, I do not tolerate my students antagonising each other. I know exactly what you did just then. It looks like you're facing more detentions. Wouldn't you agree Filius?"

But Flitwick was still looking her up and down with an extremely impressed expression.

"Do you have a talisman perhaps?" he quizzed. "That was quite an extraordinary shield charm, you must show me how you did it!"

"Filius? Her punishment?" Snape reminded him exasperatedly.

"Oh, yes of course. Ah, detention with me Miss Jones. How about now? Come come, so am I right? Is it some sort of talisman? There must be runes involved."

Once they were in his office, Alaw was able to explain exactly how she had repelled Pansy's hex. She pulled her robes aside to show Flitwick the head of the snake on her shoulder.

"I call her Wadjet," she said cheerfully. "After the Egyptian goddess, because she protects me."

Flitwick was fascinated and took out a pair of golden spectacles just so he could have a closer look. He marvelled at the tiny runes glittering within the ink and even went so far as to call Professor Babbling through his fire so she could come and take a look. Professor McGonagall happened to be with her and soon, Alaw found herself the subject of an impromptu staff meeting once Professor Sprout poked her head around the door and asked what all the hubbub was.

"It was Draco who gave me the idea," Alaw explained. She showed them the dragon pendant she still wore, even though its enchantment was all but dead. "This had a shield charm placed on it, but it didn't last very long. So I thought I could extend the life of the spell by using runes, and a tattoo means I'll never be without protection."

"Runes don't last forever Miss Jones," Professor Babbling reminded her, peering at the snake which blinked interestedly back at her. Alaw smiled.

"Yes, but these ones draw power directly from my own magic, so they'll never die. They renew themselves as my magical core does, it just takes some rest and food and the spell is just as good as ever."

"This is truly extraordinary!" Flitwick gushed, practically bouncing up and down. "A whole new frontier of magic. Inspired! And you did this all yourself?!"

"Oh god no, this is Tracy's baby. I just agreed to be her canvas," Alaw said hurriedly.

When the teachers eventually let her go they began a full on academic debate, and Alaw caught McGonagall say that she had never given Tracy Davies much thought before. Sprout agreed that such a talent shouldn't be neglected and Alaw left the office with a grin on her face.

* * *

Raindrops pitter-pattered softly against the window panes of Alaw's room as she lay in bed, unable to sleep. She turned her dragon pendant over and over in her fingers, gazing at the residual magic glittering in the garnet. With a sigh, she put the necklace on her bedside table and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep. But she couldn't, her mind was fixed on Draco Malfoy. She'd been so good, focusing on building up the Flames, investigating Death Eaters, getting Theodore and his cronies kicked out of school, anything to stop herself thinking about Draco. But the events of the past couple of weeks had ruined all her carefully laid plans. Pansy's jabs had only hammered home just how much she had missed her friend.

She could no longer deny it, she liked Draco, she liked him a lot. She wanted to help him escape Voldemort and his father, she wanted to break up his toxic engagement to Pansy, she wanted him for herself, but she could have him. Pansy had been right about that part. Ah, but those stolen moments together in the Potions classroom had been precious. Alaw's skin tingled just thinking about it.

"God, you're so pathetic woman," she sighed as she gave in to her desires and slid a hand down her body and between her legs. She closed her eyes and stretched luxuriously, letting her mind focus on the memory of kissing Draco at the Yule Ball. His lips had been chilly from the frozen night air, but his hands were warm when they moved over her arms and around her waist, holding her closer to him.

In the present, Alaw slid her fingers over her lips and found herself already wet. Resisting the temptation to push inside, Alaw stroked around her clit, biting her lip as a thrill of pleasure shot up her spine. With her other hand she stroked her stomach and breasts, teasing her nipple with her thumb. She imagined Draco would be very good in bed, gentle but firm, he did have wonderfully long and slender fingers. Alaw wished she knew what he looked like under his robes, she was sick of just relying on her imagination, she needed the real thing, she needed him.

"Fuck," she breathed, giving in and pushing her fingers inside herself. Her hips rose to meet her hand and quiet whimpers of pleasure escaped her lips. In her mind, it wasn't her fingers fucking her, it was him. Alaw had had sex before, she knew what to expect. It had been a summer fling a few weeks before starting at Hogwarts, a lad who'd been staying in the village with his family on holiday. They'd giggled and held hands by the river and snuck out at night, and it had been exciting whilst it lasted. But since coming to Hogwarts, Alaw's physical needs had been sadly neglected.

"Yes, come on, Yes!" Alaw cried as she tipped over the edge and her orgasm washed over her. Once the spasms had ended, Alaw lay on her back, breathing hard and feeling her heart pound. It made a nice change for it to be throbbing from exhilaration rather than pain. But, as pleasurable as that had been, Alaw knew it had been stupid.

"Come on Al, it's never going to happen. _Be ti'n feddwl, hogan_?" she groaned.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 **The Eye of the Serpent**

"A snake though, really? A _snake_?" Ron said sceptically.

It was dinner time, and Alaw was sitting with her friends at the Gryffindor table. The news of her triumph over Pansy had spread quickly through the school that day and Alaw had found herself being patted on the back by more than one person. Apparently, Professor Flitwick had been waxing lyrical about her tattoo and Tracy had already been hauled up in front of him and Professor Babbling to discuss the new technique. Not everyone had been so keen on the idea of course, Alaw had overheard whispers about 'vulgar, ugly muggle scarring'. But, compared to the usual nasty whispers she heard, this was all relatively tame.

"What's wrong with snakes?" Alaw asked dangerously. "They're symbols of protection and renewal, have been for thousands of years. I'm not going to let Voldemort ruin them for everyone."

"But a snake tattoo though," Ron persisted. "Don't you think it's a bit – you know – inappropriate? It's bound to make people think of the Dark Mark."

Alaw patted her own shoulder and tutted.

"Don't you listen to him Wadjet, you do you."

Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head before returning to his steak and kidney pie. Neville quickly changed the subject.

"So, are we going to this Halloween party in Hogsmeade tomorrow?" he asked and Hermione nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, we Prefects helped organise it, we have to make an appearance. It should be fun after all the stress we've been through lately."

On that count, she was entirely correct. Umbridge had been breathing down their necks all week like a particularly irritating asthmatic hoover. She'd set them five thousand word essay about non-magical solutions to confrontations that had had the third years trapped in the library most evenings, cursing her to Hades. Umbridge also had Filch safely in her pocket and he had been hounding Alaw's footsteps all week. She'd been particularly disturbed to find him waiting for her in the Entrance Hall once when she came in from the grounds after visiting Emrys.

"And just where have you been?" he wheezed.

"Out," Alaw had replied coldly before stepping smartly around him on her way towards the marble staircase.

She'd been more cautious in her trips to the forest since then, wearing the invisibility cloak at all times. The last thing she needed was Umbridge finding out about Emrys. Worried thoughts like this tended to bring on Alaw's chest pains and she discreetly pressed her free hand to her breast and winced as she buttered her potatoes. Hermione's sharp eyes caught the movement and she frowned at Alaw.

"It's hurting again isn't it?" she asked and Alaw grimaced.

"Yeah, but it does that all the time now."

"Al, that's not a good thing!" said Hermione in exasperation. "Seriously, I think you should go and see Professor Dumbledore about it. It might be important."

"It's not important," Alaw insisted, lowering her hand and devoting her full attention to her dinner. "Voldemort's got a body now, all his powers back, of course it's going to twinge a bit more. I can handle it."

Hermione clearly wasn't buying her airy demeanour because she continued to frown worriedly.

"But why does it hurt all the time?" she asked, lowering her voice. "Why can you sometimes feel what Voldemort is feeling? Has Professor Dumbledore really never explained it to you properly?"

"Is the Pope Catholic?" Alaw asked bitterly. "Of course he hasn't explained anything. He loves keeping us in the dark, I reckon he thinks it makes him look wise and mysterious. All he's ever said to me is I have a 'connection'," she sketched quotation marks around the word, "With Voldemort because he tried to kill me when I was a baby. He's never said how it works, or why it happened."

Which was pretty standard behaviour from the headmaster. Alaw never expected a straight answer from the old coot and she had long ago realised that if she wanted answers, she had to find them herself. Unfortunately there were no answers to be had where her strange connection with Voldemort was concerned, and her aches and pains were only getting worse. Alaw put off going to bed that night as she knew she'd only be tossing and turning. She sat in front of her fireplace trying to read a passage about healing compound fractures in _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Three_ , but her eyes kept sliding away from the page and she found herself gazing into the flames.

Around midnight she gave it up as a bad job. She took her time showering and brushing her teeth before reluctantly climbing into bed and drawing the hangings shut around her. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

 _Nagini slid between the metal bars of the lift with ease and looked around the corridor carefully. Voldemort, watching from behind her eyes, assessed the situation closely. There had been too many blunders in this operation, too many false leads. He needed to see the corridor to the department himself as he was becoming frustrated with his Death Eaters conflicting reports. Obviously, he couldn't set foot in the Ministry in person, so sending Nagini along with Yaxley was the obvious solution. He was waiting upstairs now to take Nagini safely away once her mission was complete. The plan had been for Rowle to escort the familiar, but he was currently in disgrace. Voldemort wasn't particularly surprised at his followers' loose morals, but he was furious that Rowle had been so indiscreet about his affairs._

 _The corridor leading to the Department of Mysteries appeared to be empty that night. The walls and floor were tiled with reflective black marble and every few feet there was a torch in a sconce, burning eerie blue. Nagini slithered along towards the plain black door at the end, the door which, according to his Death Eaters, was always guarded by a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Nagini stopped a few feet from the door and her forked tongue flickered out to taste the air. There was someone there, Nagini could sense it. A male, alive, but drowsy, their heartbeat slow and their breathing deep._

 _No, wait, the man wasn't asleep now, he was rising from the floor, a silvery invisibility cloak slipping from his shoulders. Nagini's instincts took over then. She reared up as the wizard drew his wand, striking with lightning speed. The man yelled as her fangs sank deeply into his flesh and Voldemort could taste the blood gushing forth._

 _"No! Stop! Nooo!"_

Voldemort jolted upright as a woman's panicked screams filled the room. Then he realised that the screams were coming from his own mouth and that he was thrashing around uncontrollably. He fell out of bed with a thud and became entangled in the hangings. After struggling to free himself, he took great gulps of air, looking wildly around the dark, unfamiliar room he was in. This didn't make any sense, his physical body had been sitting in an armchair before the fireplace in his private home, he couldn't understand where he was now, or how he came to be there.

As he fought to get a grip on himself, he felt his stomach turn and before he could stop it, he'd fallen onto all fours and vomited. Well, that was an unpleasant experience that he hadn't had in years. He choked on the burning after-taste and tried to get up, but found that his limbs would not obey him. Instead, his hand moved of its own accord and lifted to wipe his mouth and push the hair away from his face. Hair? How did he suddenly have hair again? Grunting in pain, his body turned itself towards the bed and used it to stand up. Then his eyes landed on the hand gripping the bedpost for support, and he _understood_.

The hand was not his at all, it was smaller, and definitely feminine. He was in _her_ body, the mud-blood, Alaw. Voldemort barely had a moment to register this strange turn of events before the door of the bedroom burst open and a woman ran inside. Minerva McGonagall was clad in a tartan dressing gown and had her lit wand held aloft.

"Phineas Nigellus came to tell me that you were in distress," the witch said, hurrying over to Alaw. "Are you hurt? Is there somebody here?"

"Professor!" Alaw cried. "Professor, he got Mr Weasley, Voldemort! He just attacked him!"

This was a bizarre situation. It was very strange to have one's mouth move by itself and issue a voice which was not one's own. Alaw was swaying perilously and McGonagall reached out to steady her.

"What do you mean, girl? Take a deep breath, calm yourself, and explain."

But Alaw couldn't calm herself. Her heart was pounding and adrenaline was coursing through her veins, threatening to overwhelm Voldemort.

"Voldemort just set his snake on Ron's dad. He was in that corridor, he was bitten really badly, there was loads of blood, oh god, the blood…"

Alaw pressed a hand to her mouth as bile rose in her throat again, but she swallowed a few times and the sensation passed. McGonagall was staring at her with an appalled expression.

"How did you see this? Was it a dream?" she asked and Alaw huffed impatiently.

"Yes, but it wasn't just a nightmare. I get these visions sometimes, Dumbledore knows about them. Sometimes I can see what Voldemort is doing."

 _Can you indeed?_ Voldemort thought. This news was both alarming and intriguing. How could he have been unaware of these intrusions? What secrets had the Mud-blood plundered from his mind? Alaw wobbled again.

"Please," she begged desperately. "He's really badly hurt, he might be dead already, I couldn't tell. We have to tell Dumbledore."

"Yes," McGonagall agreed. "You're right. I'll take you to him at once. The older witch turned towards the door, pausing only to wave her wand and vanish the pool of sick. Alaw snatched up her wand from the bedside table and followed on unsteady legs. The two women crossed a living area before stepping through a portrait hole.

"Be of stout heart my lady! The good Professor shall drive off those villains!" cried to occupant of the portrait as they passed.

Though the words were spoken in a language Voldemort was unfamiliar with, Alaw could understand them and thus Voldemort gleaned their meaning easily enough. A scrawny, dust-coloured cat was sitting on the windowsill opposite Alaw's room and McGonagall shooed the creature away. As they walked along the dark and deserted corridors of the school, Voldemort took stock of his predicament. A quick mental check revealed that he hadn't lost contact with his physical body, he could still feel it distantly and could return to it whenever he pleased. But he decided to stay for a while, this was too curious a development not to investigate.

The girl said she'd been seeing flashes of his daily life, and now it seemed the process worked in reverse. But how? This couldn't be Legilimency, they were hundreds of miles apart, and both Hogwarts castle, and his own home, had strong wards around their walls. There had always been a strange connection between himself and Alaw, Peter had mentioned that she and her friends sometimes spoke about it when he had been posing as the Weasley family rat. But until now, Voldemort had never given the connection much thought. He had been a fool.

As they climbed the marble staircase, Voldemort realised that he was cold, or rather, Alaw was cold. She was only wearing pyjamas and the stone under her bare feet was like ice. Voldemort hadn't felt cold, or warmth, in many years. His new body wasn't particularly sensitive to taste, touch and smell, there was only so much magic could do after all. He could make do with three out of five of his senses dulled, provided hearing and sight were sharp.

As the witches moved through the castle, Voldemort felt a surprisingly strong sense of nostalgia. It had been decades since he'd last set foot in Hogwarts, but the halls still felt like home. Once the war was won, he planned to set up base permanently in the castle, which he was sure still held many secrets for him to uncover. Soon they were standing before the stone gargoyle which guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office.

"Fizzing Whizzbee," said Professor McGonagall.

Voldemort mentally rolled his eyes at the childish name. It seemed that Dumbledore still delighted in the ridiculous. The gargoyle sprang to life and leapt aside; the wall behind it split in two to reveal a spiral staircase that was moving continually upwards. The two women stepped onto the moving stairs; the wall behind them closed with a thud and they began to move upwards in tight circles until they reached the highly polished oak door with the brass knocker shaped like a griffin.

Professor McGonagall rapped three times with the griffin knocker and the door opened of its own accord. When Professor Dippet had been the headmaster of Hogwarts, this office had been filled with comfortable armchairs and the cabinet in the corner had held many bottles of gin. Now, under Dumbledore, there were spindly little tables scattered about, each holding a magical artefact, curiosities from his travels or gifts from his many accomplished friends across the world. Over by the window perched a magnificent phoenix and Voldemort couldn't help but be impressed. He'd only ever seen such an animal once or twice in his life.

Dumbledore was sitting his a high-backed chair behind his desk, leaning forward into the pool of candlelight illuminating the papers laid out before him. He was wearing an ostentatious purple and gold dressing-gown over a snowy white night-shirt, but seemed wide awake, his penetrating blue eyes fixed on Professor McGonagall.

"Phineas told me there was a commotion, what has happened?" the headmaster asked without preamble.

"Professor Dumbledore, Jones here has had – well – a vision of sorts."

"Voldemort attacked Mr Weasley!" Alaw burst out and McGonagall looked down at her with a frown. "Well, it was his snake actually, you know, Nagini, but he's really hurt. He was in that corridor Voldemort's obsessed with, you have to find him!"

There was a pause in which Dumbledore leant back in his chair to gaze up at the ceiling. His lack of response irritated Alaw, Voldemort felt it keenly. She was quivering from head to foot, strung tight as a spring, this calm was not what she wanted at all. She wanted action.

"How did you see this?" Dumbledore asked quietly, still not looking at Alaw.

"What? I dunno, in my sleep I suppose like all the other times," said Alaw angrily. "Look, he's lost so much blood, you have to –"

"You misunderstand me," said Dumbledore, still with that calm tone. "In your dream, where were you standing? Next to Arthur? Behind the snake?"

 _He knows_ , thought Voldemort darkly. Of course he did, the old man had always been eerily omniscient.

"Oh for god's sake, what does it matter right now?" Alaw snapped. "I saw it all from the snake's point of view, like I was her. Now please will you just -"

But once again Dumbledore interrupted her, get up quickly from his chair and now addressing McGonagall.

"Minerva, please go and fetch the Weasley children for me, I will ensure that Arthur is reached quickly."

McGonagall left and Alaw watched anxiously as Dumbledore moved over to a portrait by the window.

"Everard?" he said sharply. "And you too Dilys!"

A sallow-faced wizard with a short black fringe and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame next to him, woke from their feigned sleep at once.

"What does this man look like?" asked the headmaster called Everard in a business-like tone.

"He has red hair and glasses," Dumbledore informed him. "He was on guard duty tonight. Raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people."

The witch and the wizard disappeared from their portraits and Dumbledore turned away towards the phoenix. He stroked its golden-plumed head with one finger and the bird awoke at once. It stretched its beautiful head high and looked at Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.

"We will need," Dumbledore said very quietly. "A warning."

There was flash of fire and phoenix was gone. Dumbledore now swooped down upon one of the fragile silver instruments, carried it over to his desk and tapped it with his wand. As he worked on the artefact, he kept his back to Alaw who starting to feel light-headed.

"Sir," she began. "Sir please, I'm really scared. What's happening to me?"

Dumbledore acted as if he hadn't heard her. Well, that was certainly an interesting reaction. It was most unlike Dumbledore to ignore an obviously frightened student, and Alaw's distress was prominent, she was still unsteady on her feet and she had a cold sweat.

"Sir please tell me what's going on, sir!" she tried again, but still she got no response, not even a glance in her direction. A sudden and powerful rage rose in Alaw.

"Look at me what I'm talking to you, you twinkly-eyed bastard!" she shouted.

Dumbledore turned to face his furious pupil. Voldemort felt a powerful hatred for the man, but he wasn't sure if it was his or Alaw's. This was truly delicious. All this time, he had been working under the assumption that Alaw was Dumbledore's new protégé, that she and her friends were to be the new generation of Order members. But he could see now that Alaw didn't have a shred of respect for this man, all she felt was frustration and resentment.

"Alaw, please, calm yourself so that I can think clearly," Dumbledore said patiently. "This device will confirm a theory I have been working on for some time."

But his words only infuriated Alaw.

"No!" she cried. "I am not doing anything you say until you explain what the fuck is going on! I _was_ that snake _, I_ bit Mr Weasley, _I_ killed him!"

Alaw hugged her middle tightly as if she was trying to stop herself from falling apart and Dumbledore's measured tone was doing nothing to alleviate her fears _. He doesn't care about you_ , Voldemort thought, subtly projecting the words into her mind.

"I do not know exactly what is happening," Dumbledore said but Alaw interrupted him.

"Yes you do! You do know, you've always known, stop lying to me!"

She took a step towards the headmaster, now gripping her wand in a trembling fist and for one, wonderful moment, Voldemort thought she was going to attack the old man. But then the door opened and McGonagall came in, escorting a gaggle of red-haired Weasleys. One of them, a tall, freckled young man, looked at Alaw in alarm.

"Al? What's going on? McGonagall said you saw dad get attacked!"

Alaw turned towards him and tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed. The boy, Ron Alaw's mind provided helpfully, hurried over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Voldemort cringed internally, he hated being touched.

"Bloody hell Al, you look fucking awful. And you're shaking! Here."

The boy took off his dressing gown and chivalrously put it around Alaw's shoulders. Alaw was grateful for the warmth and she leant against her friend, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffing. Dumbledore addressed the Wealseys.

"You're father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix. I have sent agents to find him, we should have word on that soon."

Even as he finished speaking, the previous headmaster hurtled back into his portrait and leant heaving against the frame, panting.

"They found him, Dumbledore!" he wheezed. "On the lower levels. I saw them bring him up, he's still alive, but he's covered in blood. I don't know if he'll make it."

"Very well," said Dumbledore gravely. "They'll take him to St Mungo's. I am sending all of you to Sirius now, it is far more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow and you will meet your mother there."

Suddenly, there was a flash of flame right in the middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather which floated gently to the floor.

"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "Professor Umbridge knows you are out of your beds. Minerva, head her off, tell her any story."

As McGonagall left and Dumbledore moved quickly to whisper to one of the other portraits, Ron looked at Alaw in horror.

"How did that hag find out so quickly?" he hissed and Alaw scowled.

"Filch, she's got him spying on us hasn't she? She's desperate to catch us doing something against the Ministry. We'll have to warn the other Flames to be careful around him and Mrs Norris."

 _Flames? What is that I wonder?_ Voldemort thought.

"Come quickly, I must send you on your way before Professor Umbridge arrives," said Dumbledore.

He beckoned to the students and they crowded around him. He had gone back to pointedly avoiding Alaw's eyes and she glared at him resentfully. He rummaged around in a cupboard and straightened up holding a blackened old kettle, which he placed carefully on the desk. He raised his wand and murmured, _'Portus!'_ For a moment the kettle trembled, glowing with an odd blue light, then it quivered to rest, as solidly black as ever. Voldemort felt a grudging admiration. Flamboyant and irritating Dumbledore may be, but he was still a powerful and skilled wizard. Not everyone could create a Portkey so easily.

"You have all used a Portkey before?" Dumbledore asked the Weasleys nodded, but Alaw shook her head. Of course she hadn't, she was a Mud-blood.

"You have to touch it," Ron whispered, reaching out and demonstrating. "Don't worry, I've got you."

Alaw cautiously gripped the spout of the kettle and Dumbledore began to count down from three. This was the closest Voldemort had ever stood to the old man and in that final moment before the kettle vanished, Alaw made eye-contact with the headmaster. You know I'm here, don't you? Voldemort thought, you know she's mine.

Then he was being yanked away, not by the portkey, but back into his own body. Wherever Alaw was going, it was protected by the Fidelius Charm and no amount of magic let him see it through her eyes. But no matter, what he had learned that night was invaluable.

* * *

Alaw felt a jerk behind her navel and then she was banging into the others as they all sped forwards in a swirl of colour and a rush of wind. When her feet hit the ground her knees buckled and she collapsed into a pile with the Weasleys. Trembling, Alaw got to her feet and looked around to find herself in the dark kitchen of Grimmauld Place. The only sources of light were the dying fire and a sputtering candle, which illuminated the remains of a solitary supper.

Sirius appeared, kneeling beside her and helping her to her feet. He was unshaven and had a strong smell of drink about him.

"What's happened?" he asked urgently. "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been gravely injured."

"McGonagall just said Al had a dream about it," said George, looking at Alaw with a frown. "What's going on Al?"

"I – I don't know," she said, averting her eyes as all the Weasleys and Sirius looked at her. "I had a vision, I saw Voldemort's snake bite your dad, and then I woke up. Dumbledore says they found him though, they'll take him to hospital and the doctors will fix him up."

She said this last part as confidently as she could, though it sounded more like a prayer than an assertion. She drew Ron's dressing-gown more tightly around her and stared at the floor. Fred looked up at Sirius.

"Is mum here?" he asked sharply and Sirius shook his head.

"No, she'll probably go straight to St Mungo's once the hospital's contacted her."

"We have to go too!" Ginny cried. "Have you got some cloaks we can borrow?"

"Hang you, you can't go charging off to St Mungo's," said Sirius in alarm. "Not until they've told you're mother anyway. If you just turn up it'll look very suspicious. How do you think the Ministry will react if it finds out that Alaw's been having visions of things happening hundreds of miles away?"

"Who gives a damn?! We have to go now!" Fred cried, actually making to stride out of the room but Alaw caught him by the arm.

"Fred no! You can't, how would you explain yourselves? The Ministry will bang me up in the loony bin!"

"You wouldn't be such a coward if it was your dad bleeding to death out there!" Fred shouted at her and Ron stepped in angrily.

"Hey! Don't call her a coward. We wouldn't even know about this if it wasn't for her, dad might be dead if she hadn't raised the alarm."

The brothers glared at each other but Fred was the one to slump his shoulders and back down. Sirius spoke up,

"Look, we need to wait for your mother to send word. Then I promise you can go and see him."

Fred and George exchanged mutinous looks. Ginny, however, took a few steps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Alaw looked at Ron, who made a funny movement somewhere between a shrug and a nod, and he sat too. The twins glared at Sirius for another minute, then took seats on either side of Ginny. Alaw did not want to sit. She left the room, muttering something about going to the toilet, and climbed the creaking stairs out of the basement. The hall was just as gloomy as it had been over the summer and Alaw moved silently past the sleeping portrait of Sirius' mother, mounting the stairs to the upper floors. She turned into the drawing room and sank onto the window seat to press her forehead against the chilly glass panes.

She knew, logically, that none of this was her fault. Nagini would have attacked Mr Weasley whether she had been there or not, but she still couldn't escape the feeling of guilt. This wasn't like the other dreams she'd had, or the curious mood-swings and chest pains. It was like she'd been there, she'd felt the cold of the tiles under her belly, she'd tasted the horrible metallic tang of the blood. What was happening to her? Why did she now have a connection with Voldemort's pet bloody snake?!

She sat there for a long time, staring down at the dark street below with her knees drawn up to her chest. She was so angry with Dumbledore right now, fear and rage was a potent and unpleasant mix. Why couldn't he pull his head out of his own arse for five minutes and explain things to her? Why did he not care how terrified she was? Alaw wasn't sure how long she sat there before Ron came into the room and her head snapped up. He was holding two mugs in one hand and a letter in the other.

"Mum sent this," he said, coming over to sit with Alaw and handing her the letter and one of the mugs. "The healers are still working on dad."

Alaw's eyes sped over the haphazard writing.

 _'Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I'll send word as soon as I can. Mum.'_

Alaw took a fortifying gulp of tea and found the heat to be welcome in the chill of the room.

"Do you think they've let Bill and Charlie know?" she asked and Ron nodded.

"Probably, or mum will have. They're both in the country at the moment so they'll probably go straight to the hospital."

"What about Percy?"

Ron grimaced and shrugged at that. There was a long pause until Alaw could bear it no longer.

"Ron, I'm so sorry," she said in a small voice, cupping the mug between her hands and shivering. Ron frowned.

"Why?" he asked. "Seriously, he's only alive now because of you. Don't listen to Fred, he's just scared. We all are."

"Why is this happening to me, Ron?" Alaw asked desperately. "I think – I think I'm losing my mind! I didn't just see this in a dream, I _was_ that snake! I can see what Voldemort wants, that corridor, whatever's behind that door, I can feel his emotions. I can feel when he's angry, or happy, what the hell is going on?!"

Ron couldn't answer these questions any more than Alaw could, he could only put an arm around her comfortingly. Eventually he persuaded her to join them downstairs where they sat all night, not really speaking, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Alaw could only turn her wand over and over in her hands, waiting, hoping.

At ten past five in the morning by Ron's watch, the kitchen door swung open and Mrs Weasley entered. She was extremely pale but when they all turned towards her she gave a wan smile.

"He's going to be alright," she said, her voice weak with exhaustion. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work."

Fred fell back into his chair with his hand over his face. George and Ginny got up, walked swiftly over to their mother and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his drink in one.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

 **Occlumency**

Mrs Weasley sent them all to bed not long after she arrived in Grimmauld Place, telling her protesting children that they could go and visit their father after lunch once they'd had some sleep and a decent meal. Alaw climbed the creaking stairs up to the bedroom she had shared with Hermione over the summer and slumped onto the bed, exhausted. She was just dozing off when she sat bolt upright, her heart hammering.

What was she doing? She couldn't fall asleep, not now, what if Voldemort slithered back into her mind and made her do something terrible? Alaw got up quickly and went to stand by the tiny, dirt encrusted window, hugging her arms and shivering. Whatever this connection with Voldemort was, it was dangerous. What if he could hear her thoughts? See through her eyes just like she'd seen through Nagini's? What if he took control of her body and made her creep through the house and hurt one of the others?

Restless, Alaw paced back and forth around the room, chewing her lip and jumping at small sounds, like water gurgling in the pipes or the scuttling of mice behind the skirting board. She dreaded the moment the others woke up and started demanding proper explanations from her. What if, in their grief, they blamed her? She had to get out of this house.

Alaw started rummaging around in the wardrobe, looking for clothes that would go unnoticed in muggle London, when she heard a snort behind her. She whipped around, but the room was deserted. Then her eyes landed on the portrait opposite the bed. Phineas Nigellus was leaning against the frame.

"Running away, are we?" he asked, his eyes settling on the battered old pair of boots in Alaw's hand. Alaw glanced down at them guiltily. In truth, they were far too big for her and the bottoms were peeling away in places. She threw them back in the cupboard with a sigh.

"No, I just need some fresh air," she said. Then she squinted at Phineas Nigellus suspiciously. "Did Dumbledore send you to spy on me again?"

"The headmaster sent me to give you a message," said Professor Black boredly and Alaw raised her eyebrows, a tiny spark of hope igniting in her chest. Had Dumbledore finally come to his senses and decided to give her a proper explanation? When Phineas Nigellus didn't elaborate, Alaw let out a tiny puff of air through her nose in frustration.

"What's the message?" she asked, in as measured a tone as she could manage. The more annoyed she got, the more the crusty old headmaster would enjoy it. When he saw that he wasn't going to get a rise out of her, Phineas Nigellus sighed.

"Professor Dumbledore says you are to stay where you are, and not do anything foolish, like run away."

"I wasn't running away!" Alaw snapped, her temper bubbling up and the spark of hope dying. "How am I supposed to run away from something happening inside my head?"

"Precisely," Phineas Nigellus agreed. Sudden exhaustion overwhelmed Alaw and she dropped onto the bed again, the old springs groaning in protest.

"So that it, is it?" she asked wearily, "No explanation as usual. Why did I expect any better? Dumbledore doesn't give a shit about people unless they can do something for him in return. It's the only reason he bothers with Snape still, it's the reason he left Sirius to rot in Azkaban all those years once he wasn't useful to him anymore."

"Oh yes, you are so hard done by," Phineas Nigellus said sarcastically. "The headmaster does not share every tiny detail of his plans with you, therefore he must be manipulative and cold."

"Don't speak to me like I'm a child," said Alaw darkly. "I'm not asking him to tell me all his plans! I'm just looking for some help fixing my head! What if I really hurt someone, without even realising what I'm doing?"

Phineas Nigellus shrugged and Alaw rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, that's so helpful," she sighed. "Look, if you're not going to tell me anything useful, can you just leave?"

"As you wish. Mudblood," said the old headmaster and he disappeared from the portrait before Alaw could do more than stand up and snarl angrily.

Once she was sure she was alone, Alaw sank back down onto the bed and buried her face in her hands. She was so tired, she felt as if she'd been put through a mangle. She couldn't stay awake forever. Admitting defeat, she crawled under the blankets and closed her eyes, praying that Voldemort had other things to occupy his mind that day.

* * *

Around one o'clock, Mrs Weasley woke them all so they could eat a quick lunch of chicken sandwiches in the kitchen. Alaw wasn't feeling particularly refreshed and sat with her head in one hand, munching noncommittally on her food.

"You ok, mate? You still look terrible," Ron muttered and Alaw made a vague sound in the back of her throat. Sirius came into the kitchen.

"I found some muggle clothes for you all, so you can go to the hospital without drawing too much attention. And Tonks and Moody said they'd be by soon to escort you."

The Weasleys appeared to be in high spirits as they ate, but Alaw found herself staring off into space and not listening to the conversation. Ron had to shake her out of her stupor.

"Come on, let's get changed before the Order people arrive," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, and Alaw blinked.

"I didn't think I was coming with you," she said uncertainly and Mrs Weasley looked up from where she was organising the washing up.

"Of course you can come, dear. Arthur will want to thank you for raising the alarm."

Far from reassuring her, this just made Alaw feel uncomfortable.

"Uh, thank you, Mrs Weasley. But, I really think it should just be family on the first visit. I'm also not feeling too great, I think I need some more sleep."

"Well, if you're sure," said Mrs Weasley, looking a little surprised. As Alaw reached for her pumpkin juice, she noticed Sirius giving her a worried look.

Once the Weasleys had left the house with Tonks, Moody and Lupin, who had also decided to tag along, Alaw was left wondering what to do with herself. She could have gone back to bed, but she needed to be free of the cloying atmosphere of number twelve. So instead, she pulled on the horribly outdated muggle clothes Sirius had managed to scrounge together and tiptoed across the hall to the front door. Just as she was reaching for the handle however, Sirius' voice sounded behind her.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Alaw winced and turned around to find him standing in the door to the kitchen.

"I need to go for a walk, I need to get out of here and clear my head," she whispered, mindful of the portrait of Sirius' mother. Sirius frowned.

"I can't let you do that, Al. I'm sorry. It's just too dangerous to let you wonder around London without a guard or the Invisibility Cloak."

"Why don't you come with me then?" Alaw asked and the crease in Sirius' forehead deepened.

"You know I can't leave the house, not with the Ministry and Voldemort out to get me. Dumbledore told me to stay indoors."

"Sirius, there are more than ten million people in this bloody city," Alaw said impatiently. "I'm not trying to drag you down Diagon Alley, I just want to go to the park. The only people who will see us are muggles, and you can do some charms to change your hair colour and stuff. Please, Sirius. It'll do me some good, it'll do _you_ some good!"

Sirius opened his mouth as if to argue, but then closed it again, looking troubled. Alaw waited with baited breath and then, to her astonishment, Sirius griped,

"Alright, fine. I'll come, just give me ten minutes."

He must have been more frustrated in number twelve than Alaw had imagined, because when they got outside he took a huge gulp of air and actually smiled. Sirius had charmed his hair a dull brown and changed into tan trousers, an off white shirt, and a long trench coat. Quite old fashioned, but far less noticeable than full length wizard's robes. They walked in the direction of the nearest park in silence, Sirius glancing around wearily at first, but then starting to relax when all they encountered were muggles going about their daily lives.

"Our clothes look a bit out of place," he muttered eventually.

"You don't say," Alaw huffed, tugging at the collar of her uncomfortable cardigan. Her skirt, which ended just below the knee and was a hideous beige colour, looked like something her grandmother would have worn. "The Order really needs to get with the times if they're planning on going under cover as muggles. Jeans people! Jeans, they're not difficult to find."

"Perhaps we should go shopping?" Sirius suggested and Alaw raised her eyebrows at him.

"Look who's feeling adventurous all of a sudden. Five minutes ago you were telling me to be a good girl and stay put."

"Ah well, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg," Sirius shrugged, grinning. Alaw sniggered.

"My purse is at Hogwarts, I'm afraid, so no shopping for us today. But next time we'll go to and do a proper spree. Ooo! I'll take you to Ikea, we have got to update that house of yours."

They entered the park through a set of rusty gates and walked along a path strewn with empty crisp packets and broken beer bottles. When they came upon a bench overlooking a scummy pond, they sat down.

"So, you feeling better since last night?" Sirius asked and Alaw shrugged, gazing at a couple of ducks paddling across the water.

"Not really," she said. "But how would you feel after having Voldemort poking around inside your head?"

"Fair point," Sirius conceded. He waited until a muggle jogger had passed them before adding, "Though, it sounds more like you were the one poking around in his head."

Alaw frowned and stopped watching the ducks to glance at her godfather.

"I saw through the snake's eyes," she said carefully. "Not Voldemort's."

Sirius grimaced and folded his arms.

"Voldemort always was a master of possession. It wouldn't surprise me if he sent the snake in to case the joint, and was possessing it at the time so he could see everything for himself."

"It was that corridor again," Alaw muttered, more to herself than to Sirius. "He's obsessed with the place!"

Sirius looked at her sharply.

"What corridor?" he asked and Alaw smirked bitterly.

"The one you lot have been guarding. I've had other dreams, not exactly like last night, but that corridor is in all of them. Plain black door and everything."

Sirius stared at her in obvious alarm and Alaw couldn't help but be a tiny bit pleased. The Order desperately wanted to keep her in the dark, but they couldn't censor Voldemort.

"Alaw, this is serious! Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Oh yeah, because going to Dumbledore for help has worked a treat in the past," Alaw snorted sarcastically. Sirius gave her a disapproving look.

"This vendetta you have against Dumbledore has to stop, Al. It's dangerous. We're all on the same side here."

Alaw ignored this and turned her gaze onto the rest of the park. The jogger had made it around the pond and was leaving through the gate opposite the bench. A couple entered, holding hands and laughing at some joke.

"I miss home," said Alaw suddenly. "I miss mum and dad. I wish I could just fly Emrys to Snowdonia and let him live on the reservation."

"Why don't you?" Sirius asked, accepting Alaw's abrupt change of topic for the time being. "Surely he's old enough now."

"He is," Alaw admitted. "But for a journey like that, I'd have to fly with him and we're not so great at that yet. And even if we did make it all the way to Wales, then what? The reservation is manned by Ministry wizards. If I turn up on the back of an unregistered Welsh Green there are going to be some seriously awkward questions."

Sirius' expression was a little too sympathetic for Alaw's taste.

"You can't keep him in the forest forever. He needs to be with his own kind."

"Yeah I know," Alaw sighed, kicked a loose pebble across the path. It fell into the pond with a faint plop. "When did my life become so complicated?"

"The day Voldemort decided to get involved?" Sirius suggested and Alaw huffed a laugh. Then she got up from the bench and smoothed her skirt.

"Come on," she said, gesturing for Sirius to follow suit. "You need a good long walk."

* * *

When the Weasleys and their guard returned from the hospital, they reported that Arthur was in good spirits. The healers were confident that they could seal the bites in time, and Mr Weasley would simply have to keep taking blood replenishing potions until then. The questioning that Alaw had dreaded did not come and the conversation over dinner was focused mainly on lamenting the fact that they would miss the Halloween party in Hogsmeade.

Alaw suspected that Ron had had a private word with his siblings and asked them not to pester her. She was grateful, as she was in no mood to be asked questions she had no answers to. It was decided that they would all go back to Hogwarts tomorrow morning, after one more quick visit to the hospital.

"Any sign of Percy today?" Alaw asked once they were all relaxing in the drawing room after dinner. She was attempting in vain to beat Ron as chess, something she was yet to achieve. Ron grimaced down at the board.

"Nope."

He prodded a bishop forward and Alaw winced when it punched her knight in the nose.

"Well, maybe he'll visit when you lot aren't all there," she said half-heartedly and Fred snorted.

"Face it Al, Percy's a polished turd. He won't go and see dad."

Alaw fiddled with her fingers and gave a small, sad sigh. If she could, she would march Percy down to St Mungo's herself, but with her purse still at Hogwarts she had no means of getting to his flat. But, hopefully, she'd get a response from Mr Crouch soon and her plans for Percy could advance. Ron had just decisively beaten her when Mrs Weasley poked her head into the drawing room.

"Alaw dear, Professor Snape is here to see you. He's waiting in the kitchen."

Alaw's eyebrows shot up and Ron's head snapped around so fast, he cricked his neck.

"Oh sweet Merlin what have you done?" he asked.

"Nothing! I haven't done anything!" Alaw protested indignantly.

"Well, you better get down there before you really piss him off," said Ginny.

When Alaw entered the kitchen she found Sirius and Snape sitting at opposite ends of the table, glaring at each other.

"Sir?" she said to snap them out of it. Snape took his eyes off her godfather and fixed her with a cold look.

"The headmaster had sent me here to speak with you, Jones. You can leave now, Black."

"And leave you here alone to bully her? No I think I'll stay, seeing as it's my house."

Snape's lip curled.

"Very well, sit down, Jones."

Alaw sat in the chair next to Sirius and glanced between the two men. The tension in the air was so palpable, she wasn't sure if they were going to kill each other or hate-fuck on the table.

"The headmaster had asked me to teach you Occlumency. It is a difficult skill to master, so we will be meeting twice a week. Beginning tomorrow, eight o'clock, my office."

"Right," said Alaw, a slight frown creasing her forehead. "Um, what is Occlumency?"

"The art of defending one's mind. I will explain in more detail once our lessons commence. Now, it is very important that Dolores Umbridge not discover what you are doing, so if anybody asks, I have given you detention for the rest of the term for your stunt with Miss Parkinson."

Alaw nodded and tried not to let her excitement show on her face. A means of protecting the mind? Was Dumbledore finally taking an interest in her visions after all? But why choose Snape of all people to teach her? Sirius was obviously thinking along the same lines.

"Why can't Dumbledore teach Al? Why you?"

"Because Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts and has better things to do with his time. So do I, as it happens, but I am but a servant and must do as I am bid."

Snape got up to leave but Sirius shot out of his chair and stood between Snape and the door.

"Hold on there, Snivellus," Sirius said darkly. "If I hear you've been using these lessons to give Al a hard time, you'll answer to me."

"How sweet," Snape sneered. "Your paternal instincts are finally kicking in. Must be all the time you've spent in this hovel you call a home."

Sirius snarled and whipped out his wand. Alaw leapt out of her chair and inserted herself between the two men.

"Sirius mate, don't rise to it, he's just baiting you," she muttered urgently, laying a steadying hand on Sirius' arm.

"I've warned you!" Sirius growled at Snape who looked amused. His own wand was in his hand and pointing discreetly at Sirius' stomach. Alaw subtly angled herself to be in the way. "I've warned you about being smart with me. Dumbledore might think you've reformed, but I know better!"

"Why don't you tell him then?" Snape asked coolly. "Afraid perhaps? Dumbledore might trust the word of those who risk their lives for him every day over those who hide inside their mother's houses."

"Enough!" Alaw shouted, angrily shoving Sirius back as he made to advance on Snape. "Put those wands down before I snap them in half! You're like a pair of fucking children!"

She glared between the two men and when Sirius still didn't back down, she let out a low, threatening growl in Parseltongue. He glanced at her and then, very slowly, lowered his wand. Snape gave a delicate sniff of contempt and swept from the kitchen, stowing his wand in his robes as he went.

* * *

There was a threat of snow in the air at Hogwarts, Alaw felt it in her bones as she descended the steps to the dungeons. She was glad she'd thought to wear her woollen Slytherin jumper, but less glad that she'd paired it with muggle jeans when a group of fourth year Slytherins passed her.

"What are you doing down here?" asked one of the beefier lads.

"Detention," said Alaw shortly before sliding past them.

No jinxes came flying her way, it appeared the bullies had learnt their lessons. She was alone in the corridor by the time she reached Snape's door. She knocked and was told to enter. The office was just as chilly as the rest of the dungeons and Alaw shivered a little, glancing grumpily at the empty grate.

"Sit down, Jones," Snape said, not looking up from the essays he was marking. After crossing out an entire paragraph and writing what looked like a D in the top corner, Snape put his work to one side and fixed Alaw with a cold look.

"Well then, Jones, you know why you are here. To learn Occlumency. Now I think I can assume that you do not know what that is?"

Alaw shook her head.

"As I told you in your dear godfather's kitchen, Occlumency is the magical means of protecting one's mind from Legilimency."

"And – that's like mind-reading then?" Alaw asked. Snape gave her a contemptuous look.

"Only muggles speak of mind-reading. A Legilimens, such as myself, or the Dark Lord, cannot simply hear the thoughts of those around us, or read them like passages in a book. The human mind is a complicated thing, thoughts move too fast to be understood externally without extensive training."

Alaw squinted dubiously at Snape. It still sounded an awful lot like mind reading to her. _You're a grumpy twat who should wash his hair once in a while_ , she thought, as clearly as she could. Snape's face remained impassive and Alaw cocked her head musingly. Of course, part of being an Occlumens must involve controlling one's expressions, so maybe he had heard that was simply trolling her. Snape's lip curled.

"I see that you require a demonstration. Very well, tell me three facts about yourself, two true and one false."

Alaw frowned, considering her professor.

"Ok," she said doubtfully. "Uh, when I was ten my brother broke my leg pushing me out of a tree, my favourite colour is blue, and Hermione's favourite band is Queen."

"You're brother did not break your leg, you broke his," Snape said, without missing a beat. Alaw's mouth opened slightly, genuinely impressed.

"Ok, how did you do that?" she asked.

"It is called a passive reading," Snape explained. "When one uses Legilimency without a wand. Eye-contact is essential. I caught a glimpse of the real memory as you spoke the lie, contradicting it. I can't imagine your parents were particularly pleased."

"They weren't," said Alaw, grimacing as she remembered her mother screaming at her. "I wasn't trying to push Osian out of the tree! He was in my way and he kept shoving me, so I shoved him back."

Osian still brought it up sometimes when he was trying to annoy her. Snape drew is wand from an inside pocket of his robes and Alaw felt a twinge of apprehension.

"Well, that was passive Legilimency. It is why the Dark Lord almost always knows when he is being lied to. Occlumency allows one to block true memories from coming to the surface. Minerva McGonagall."

Alaw frowned and Snape smirked.

"There, you see? Professor McGonagall's face just flashed across your surface thoughts. That was called a prompt."

"Oh! Like when you tell someone not to think about a pink elephant, and it pops into their head straightaway," said Alaw, understanding now. "And Occlumency can block that as well, can it?"

"It can, with practise. Now, I am going to demonstrate active Legilimency, which requires a wand."

He pointed his wand at Alaw's face and she leant backwards apprehensively.

"Uh, what exactly are you going to do?"

"I am going to break into your mind and search for a specific piece of information."

"What information?"

Snape's smirk became more pronounced.

"You'll just have to see, won't you? _Legilimens!_ "

It was like being hit with a powerful wind right in the face. Alaw gasped, and then her vision was obscured by a swirl of vivid colours and her ears filled with sounds from years and years gone by.

She was five years old, dressed in a pink dress made of cheap tulle and covered in glitter, with a plastic wand in her pudgy hand.

" _Dad! Fyny! Dwisho hedfan!_ " she cried, reaching her arms up for her father.

She was nine, running along the banks of the river near her house with her friends from primary school. She swooped and caught up a stick, whirling around to engage in a mock duel with one of the boys.

She was twelve, with tears streaming down her face as a boy held the short story she had lovingly crafted for the school competition out of her reach.

" _Dora fo'n nol_!" she whimpered, jumping up to try and grab the papers, only to be shoved onto the hard concrete of the playground for her trouble.

She was seventeen years old and toppling backwards off the bridge in the centre of the village. A moment before she hit the rocks the world flipped and she found herself lying safe and sound on the bank several feet away.

"Alright, that's enough," said Snape and Alaw fell forwards out of her chair, gasping, her head ringing.

"What the hell was that?!" she cried, pushing her hair out of her face and blinking rapidly. Little white dots were popping in front of her eyes.

"I was searching for the first time your magic manifested. The mind is a many layered thing so it threw up multiple memories concerning magic before I found the correct one."

Alaw struggled to her feet and clutched the edge of the desk as her head reeled.

"That was horrible!" she groaned and Snape's eyes narrowed.

"You're mind was under attack. It wasn't supposed to be pleasant. Believe me, if it were the Dark Lord searching for information, it would have been far worse. It is often his pleasure to create false memories and implant them into the minds of his victims, scenes to drive them into madness. I have seen him wait until a person was literally begging him to kill them before finally ending their misery."

There was silence for a moment as Alaw stared at him.

"You are just a barrel of laughs aren't you?" she asked scathingly and Snape's face remained impassive.

"I am here to teach you Occlumency, not coddle you. And I am still your teacher, Jones. Don't be insolent. Now then, we will try that again and this time, I would like you clear your mind beforehand."

Alaw slumped back in the chair and pressed the heel of her palm against her eye.

"How do I clear my mind?" she asked.

"Close your eyes, take steady breaths and focus on what you can feel, like the chair, and your clothes."

Alaw did as she was told, even though she felt quite stupid sitting there with her eyes closed whilst Snape looked on.

"Can you feel them?" he asked and she nodded. "Now, forget them. File them away in your mind as inconsequential. Next, concentrate on what you can hear, and do the same."

Alaw understood, vaguely, what Snape was trying to get her to do, but it was very difficult when the only thought going through her mind was how stupid this was. Did he really expect her to try and meditate with him sitting right in front of her with a wand.

"I suppose that will have to do for now," said Snape, sounding displeased. "Open your eyes, and we will try again. This time, I'll be looking for your last Charms lesson. Do not think about it, keep your mind blank and your breathing calm. Panicking only makes it easier for me. _Legilimens!_ "

She was in Flourish and Blotts with Hermione, exclaiming excitedly over The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One. They flipped to the chapter on shield charms and suddenly Alaw's entire perspective did a 90 degree flip.

Now she was sitting her living room with Tracy in her underwear, as Tracy inked in the tail of her snake tattoo. Alaw glanced down fondly at the head of the snake which was already finished, and the next second she was flipped again.

Professor Flitwick was oohing and ahhing over her tattoo whilst Professor McGonagall and Sprout nodded approvingly. Beyond them, Alaw could see the Charms classroom and before she knew it she was sitting at her desk, wand in hand, as Professor Flitwick demonstrated how to produce a fountain of water.

"Too easy," Snape snorted, and Alaw found herself back in his office with a blinding headache. "Did you do anything I told you to?"

"Give me a break, it's my first time!" Alaw snapped.

"Do you think the Dark Lord will 'give you a break'? Do you think he will be kind when he has you at his mercy?"

"Ok! Jesus, just give me a second."

"You don't get a second!" Snape snapped, suddenly angry. "This is not a game! We will try again. _Legilimens!_ "

Before Alaw even had a moment to think she was falling through colours again.

Ollivander's shop, Diagon Alley, and Alaw was watching Draco waving his new wand back and forth and producing blue sparks. She spoke to him, thinking he was another nervous first year.

The Great Hall, the Yule Ball, and she was laughing and dragging Draco onto the dance floor to do the Macarena with her.

A dark corridor, she was hiding, her heart was hammering as she listened to Theodore and his cronies hunting her down. Then a flash of light and Draco was there. He stared at her, his eyes full of fear.

"There's nothing here, she's already gone," he called over his shoulder.

Now she was lying in bed, one hand clutching the sheets whilst the other stroked herself.

"STOP!" Alaw yelled in the present.

She'd fallen out of her chair again but she was up like a shot, though she swayed violently once she was on her feet. She glared at Snape.

"What the fuck?! What we're you even looking for then?" she shouted.

"The memory of when you bought your wand, but I decided to let your mind follow its own tangent and see where it led. You'll notice that thought threads have common themes, one subject leads logically to another," Snape said, quite passively.

Alaw shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. She had never been so embarrassed in her life.

"Ok, no, this isn't going to work. You can't teach me this," she said firmly and Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" he asked. "Do you think I give two figs about your comfort? I am a grown man, believe me, it's nothing I didn't expect to find."

"Exactly! You're a man!" Alaw snarled. "I can't have some bloke poking around in my head, I won't have it. You have to find a woman to teach me, anyone, I don't care. Just not you."

"There is no one else!" Snape countered, standing up. "Do you realise how rare a skill Occlumency is? You are acting like a child, this is part of the learning process. Of course I'll come across things you'd rather remained private. Your job is to learn how to close your mind and stop me from seeing them."

But Alaw wasn't going to stand for this. She snatched up her bag and slung it furiously over her shoulder.

"Find someone else!" she said through gritted teeth. "I am not letting you near my head ever again!"

She turned on her heel and marched out of the office, slamming the door shut behind her.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

 **Fireside Chats**

Alaw had never been so embarrassed in her life and she went out of her way to avoid Snape for the next few days, even going so far as to don the invisibility cloak for meal times again. He didn't try to speak to her in that time so she assumed he wasn't too bothered about forcing her to continue her Occlumency lessons. When her friends had asked how the lesson had gone she'd been breezy in her answer, describing the meditation technique and the blinding headache that followed. She hadn't intended to tell them the truth at all but Hermione had sensed that something was wrong and cornered her in her living room to ask if she was alright. Alaw had felt obliged to explain the situation to her.

"Oh," said Hermione, once Alaw had muttered the truth to her, not looking up from her History of Magic essay. "I see. Well of course that's, awkward, but, Al, be realistic here. Professor Snape is a brilliant Occlumens and a professional, I'm sure he'll handle it tactfully in future."

"I am not going back there!" Alaw hissed hotly, blushing at the very memory. "No way! There's too much stuff in my head that I don't want him to see. Never mind the personal stuff, what about all our plans for the Flames? I can't let him see that."

"Al, you have to go back!" Hermione scolded. "You need to learn Occlumency. Having Snape in your head might be embarrassing, but it's far better than having Voldemort poking around in there!"

Alaw grimaced and scratched out a few more words of her essay to avoid Hermione's stern look. She was right of course, Snape was bad enough, but what if Voldemort somehow got hold of her personal fantasies? Besides being absolutely mortifying, it might put Draco in serious danger if Voldemort found out how much she liked him. Except, she hadn't had any dreams about Voldemort since the incident with the snake. She hadn't had a single glimpse of the mysterious corridor or the black door, so perhaps Voldemort too was weary. It must have been embarrassing for him to realise that a Mudblood with no training could ransack his brain so easily.

Alaw was just flicking through her copy of A History of Magic, looking for information on Ulick Gamp and the formation of the Ministry of Magic, when she heard a faint tapping sound. Frowning, she looked over her shoulder and saw a ghostly barn owl perched on the windowsill outside. It was tapping the glass with its beak, and had a letter tied to its leg.

"Bit late for post isn't it?" Hermione asked as Alaw crossed the room and opened the window to let the bird in. "Who's it from?"

Alaw untied the letter and unrolled it. She didn't recognise the handwriting, but the Ministry seal made her heart leap in hope.

"Mum and dad," she lied, absently, allowing the owl to take flight before closing the window on it. A few snowflakes had begun to drift lazily past the castle. "Must have gotten blown off course."

Whilst Hermione returned to her homework, Alaw tried to contain her excitement and open the letter calmly.

 _Dear Miss Jones_

 _Thank you for your letter. I apologise for taking my time in replying, but I felt I needed to give this matter some serious thought. I would be very glad to speak to you, but I cannot trust matter this important to a bird. If it is convenient, you may call my home fireplace this coming Saturday at nine o'clock in the morning. I would advise you not to use a fireplace within Hogwarts, as the castle network is being closely monitored by certain parties within the Ministry._

 _Yours,_

 _Bartemius Crouch_

Short, and to the point, but it was exactly what Alaw had been hoping for. Now, perhaps, her plans for the Flames could finally progress.

* * *

The rest of the week passed without incident. Alaw finally managed to master healing small cuts, Tracy confided that Professor Flitwick had spoken to her about working on her tattooing skills, and Snape hadn't tried to force Alaw back into Occlumency lessons. Harder to avoid was Hermione, and Neville, once she had snitched to the boys that Alaw was no longer attending her classes. Ron however was on Alaw's side, especially when Alaw had let him know enough of the details to be enraged on her behalf.

"I'm surprised you didn't punch the slimy pervert right in the face!" Ron had cried. "I would have."

Neville on the other hand had firmly agreed with Hermione, saying it was vital that Alaw learn to protect her mind from Voldemort. Sick of the bickering, Alaw had made her escape on Saturday morning by telling them all she was going to see Emrys. Instead, she threw on the Invisibility Cloak and trotted down the lane to Hogsmeade. She wasn't sure if it was wise to be keeping secrets from her friends, but she wanted to see how this Barty Crouch angle worked out before telling them what she was up to.

The Three Broomsticks was crowded and noisy as usual when Alaw entered, slipping in behind a couple of gossiping witches to avoid having to open the door whilst invisible. Alaw moved carefully through the crowd, taking great care not to bump into anyone, and eventually managed to find an empty backroom. She closed the door softly behind her and locked it with her wand. This was a little risky, someone might come and investigate the locked room at any moment, but Alaw would just have to be quick. She threw off the cloak but kept it close at hand, just in case she needed to put it back on in a rush, and knelt by the empty fireplace.

" _Incendio_ ," she muttered.

The logs in the grate ignited and began to fill the room with a warm glow. Alaw took a small leather pouch out of her satchel and after fumbling with the strings, extracted a glittering pinch of Floo Powder.

"Crouch Manor!" she said, throwing the pinch into the fire.

The flames turned bright green and, after glancing nervously over her shoulder to check that no one was coming, Alaw took a deep breath and plunged her head into the fire. She had never liked travelling by Floo Powder and this was even worse. Her body remained stationary but her head spun dizzyingly until it came to a jarring halt and Alaw peeked through her eyelashes. She was now looking at a large living room, with dark-wood panelling on the walls and antique rugs over the floorboards.

"Ah, Miss Jones, right on schedule," said Mr Crouch from the leather armchair placed directly in front of the fireplace.

"Jesus," Alaw muttered, swallowing a few times to beat back the nausea. "Uh, good morning, Mr Crouch."

"Are you using a secure fireplace?" Mr Crouch asked sharply, disregarding her greeting. Alaw nodded, and then realised Mr Crouch might not be able to tell as all he could see was her disembodied head.

"Yes, I'm in the Three Broomsticks."

"And are you alone?"

"Yes."

"Good, then we can speak freely," said Mr Crouch with grim satisfaction. "Forgive me for being overly cautious Miss Jones, but I'm sure you understand, given the current climate."

"Too right," Alaw agreed. Back in the Three Broomsticks, she pressed a hand to her chest and rubbed it distractedly. It had been aching all morning and now it was worse than ever. She wondered vaguely what Voldemort was up to that had him so excited today. "Um, right. Thank you for agreeing to speak to me."

"Not at all. Your letter intrigued me. I expected some sort of contact from Dumbledore, but for you to appeal to me directly is most unexpected."

"I'm not here on behalf of Dumbledore," Alaw hastened to clarify. "He doesn't even know I wrote to you. Or at least I hope he doesn't. He and I don't exactly see eye to eye."

Mr Crouch raised an eyebrow and leant forward in his chair.

"I see, well then, why don't you tell me why you asked for this meeting?"

"I would have thought it was obvious," said Alaw. "I want you to help me convince as many people as possible that Voldemort is alive."

A blink was the only reaction Alaw got to this statement and she watched Mr Crouch closely.

"You do believe that he is alive," she said when Mr Crouch remained silent. "I know you do. You're an intelligent man, you fought against him in the first war so you know what he's capable of."

Mr Crouch sat back in his seat and drummed his fingers lightly on the arm. He considered Alaw for a moment before saying,

"You're bolder than I thought, Miss Jones. You are of course correct, I never doubted that Lord Voldemort would return. But I'm afraid you'll find me to be an outlier. Most at the Ministry are convinced that Dumbledore is seeking to take power for himself, and you must admit, it's a compelling argument."

Alaw wasn't going to bother breaking that theory to pieces as she had with Madam Bones. She wasn't trying to convince Crouch, he was already sane enough to see the truth.

"Are they really convinced, or are they just covering their arses?" Alaw asked bitterly. "I hear Fudge is conducting a witch hunt against anyone who disagrees with him. Real pillar of democracy you've got there, by the way. I'm sure there are plenty of people at the Ministry who are sceptical, but who won't say a word that might jeopardise their careers."

"So what is it you wish me to do? Convince them to speak up?"

"I doubt that will be possible until Voldemort comes into the open," Alaw sighed. "But there is something you can do. Voldemort has supporters in the Ministry, people who can pull the strings very quietly behind the scenes. I've been gathering evidence since the summer, if you'd be interested in hearing some of it?"

The smallest smile curled Mr Crouch's lip.

"I would indeed."

"I thought you might," said Alaw, smugly. "But I'm not just going to give it to you."

The smile faded and Mr Crouch fixed Alaw with a hard stare.

"And why not?"

"Forgive me sir, but I don't know you, I don't trust you yet. No more than you know or trust me. I want to know you can keep your word before I start dishing out the dirt."

"And how do you suggest I prove myself to you then?"

Now came the test, something Alaw had been intending to do months ago but other things kept getting in the way.

"Do you remember your old assistant, Percy Weasley?"

 _The one you kept calling Wetherby,_ she thought privately. Mr Crouch frowned a little and cocked his head.

"Arthur Weasley's boy? Yes, he now works directly under Fudge. Been doing quite well for himself."

"I'd like you to convince him to go and see his father in hospital," said Alaw boldly. "He hasn't spoken to his family in months because he's so hell bent on getting in with Fudge's lot. But he respects you, he'd listen to what you have to say."

There was silence in the living room for a few moments. Alaw shifted uncomfortably back in the Three Broomsticks as the chill from the hard stone floor started to hurt her knees.

"And this will convince you that I am a man to be trusted?" Mr Crouch asked eventually.

"It would be a start," Alaw confirmed.

Another pause. Alaw really hoped this conversation would end soon so she could stretch and maybe take some pain-killer potion for her heart. It was throbbing dully still.

"Alright, Miss Jones. I will see what I can do. But I make no promises, young Weasley is one of Fudge's most ardent supporters."

"Thank you," Alaw sighed gratefully. "I don't see him changing his mind about Dumbledore anytime soon, I just want him to go and see his dad. I mean the guy nearly died for Christ sake!"

Crouch gazed at Alaw shrewdly and said slowly,

"I did hear that Weasley had been in a terrible accident. I don't suppose you would know the details would you?"

Alaw shook her head and smiled a little. Instead of answering she said,

"Thank you for seeing me Mr Crouch, shall we say, same time next Saturday?"

* * *

Alaw stood beneath the Invisibility cloak with her arms crossed and a bemused expression on her face, watching the scene before her unfold. She had been walking back to the castle with a smug spring in her step when she had noticed two familiar figures making their way across the lawn towards Hagrid's Hut. Naturally she had followed them and now she was unsure what to do as Umbridge and Filch dithered around Hagrid's front door.

"And you're sure she comes here, Argus?" Umbridge asked, wrinkling her nose a little as she surveyed the hut. Filch bowed his head.

"Yes, ma'am. Whenever Jones leaves the castle by herself, she always heads down in this direction. And there isn't anything else down here 'cept the forest."

"Excellent," said Umbridge with satisfaction. "Finally we can find out what that wretched muggle-born is up to. No doubt she's planning some sort of subterfuge for Dumbledore, and she thought she was being clever doing it away from the castle."

Umbridge withdrew her wand and Alaw raised an eyebrow at the sheer pig-headedness of the woman.

"Stand back, Argus," said Umbridge, pointing her wand at the front door. "Alohomora!"

Nothing happened and whilst Umbridge scowled, Alaw suppressed a snort. No doubt the stupid woman hadn't realised that Hagrid was in fact a wizard and that his home would be protected against such basic magical invasion. All wizarding homes had runes inscribed into the lintel, corner and hearthstones, they had just learned about them a few weeks ago from Professor Babbling.

Alaw watched the pair try and break into the cabin for a further ten minutes before shaking her head and turning back towards the castle. They would probably be able to get in by brute force eventually. But there wasn't anything in the cabin for them to find anyway, Hagrid didn't own anything valuable and anything precious he would have taken with him. Alaw was however annoyed that, despite her best efforts, Filch had deduced in what direction she went whenever she left the castle. She would have to be extra careful from now on.

* * *

"How can you all possibly be so messy?" Hermione tutted as she swept up the crumbs off the meeting table and vanished them with her wand.

The Flames liked to snack during their meetings but they had quickly discovered that the Room of Requirement did not magically clean itself like the rest of the castle so they had to tidy up themselves after every gathering. Alaw felt they were making good progress in their plans, for example, that evening they had agreed to approach Daphne and Tracy to find out if they were interested in joining them. Alaw had also put Millicent Bulstrode forward as a possible candidate but the other Flames had been less enthusiastic about her. She'd been put on the bench for now and Alaw would continue making friendly overtures in the hope that she could one day be a useful ally.

Alaw, Hermione and the boys were now alone in the room as Hannah and Susan had just left, complaining about Umbridge's latest essay. Ron yawned hugely and wondered over to the window where snow was falling silently.

"Quidditch is going to be a nightmare in this," he said grumpily.

Neville was helping Hermione clean away their papers and Alaw stole a sneaky glance at the two of them. As she watched, Neville 'accidentally' reached for the same file as Hermione and brushed her hand with his. Alaw was really getting sick of the two of them dancing around each other. She'd urged Neville to officially ask Hermione to the Halloween party a few weeks ago but nothing had come of it. Perhaps Christmas would offer a similar opportunity.

"Alaw Jones!"

Alaw started and glanced around at the mirror in the corner of the room. Sirius' blurred face had appeared in the glass again and she wondered over.

"Hey Sirius, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?" she asked cheerfully. Her smile slipped however when she got close enough to see that Sirius was sporting a blackeye. "Jesus Christ, what happened to you?"

"Never mind that, I'm fine," said Sirius dismissively. "I'm calling because Snape just told us tonight that you've stopped going to his Occlumency lessons."

Alaw felt her cheeks warm up but she squared her shoulders stoutly.

"Yes," she snapped. "Yes I have and for a bloody good reason."

Before she could elaborate however Sirius interrupted her.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know the reason. Snape kindly explained the situation to us and I've already had words with him about it."

Alaw cringed at the thought of Snape retelling the story of her humiliation to the entire Order of the Phoenix. The others had joined her by now and Ron squinted dubiously at Sirius.

"Words, is that how you got that blackeye then?"

Though Sirius shrugged in response, Alaw thought he looked a bit pleased with himself. Hermione gasped, scandalised.

"Sirius!" she scolded. "You didn't!"

"The creep was asking for it," said Sirius unrepentantly and Ron and Neville grinned at each other. "Anyway, that's all settled now, Dumbledore saw to that. But he told me to tell you Al, that you have to keep taking those lessons. I know it's a pain, and I'm sorry, but this is really important."

The white hot anger that always lanced through Alaw at the mention of the headmaster boiled up again.

"If Dumbledore want to tell me to do something, he can fucking well talk to me himself!" she snarled.

Sirius grimaced and paused before saying,

"Al, please listen to me. This is so important, you have to learn to defend your mind from Voldemort. Please? For me?"

He was pulling the concerned godfather card and it was deeply unfair. As Alaw squirmed and griped wordlessly, Hermione put a hand on her shoulder.

"What if I came with you? Would it be less embarrassing if I was there too?"

Alaw looked at her friend in surprise and then back at Sirius briefly.

"Well, yeah, actually that'd be great. But are you sure you want to give up two evenings a week to be a chaperone?" Alaw asked uncertainly and Hermione smiled.

"Of course I don't mind! I could take homework with me and sit quietly whilst you do your thing. If Professor Snape doesn't mind of course."

"I'll ask him," said Sirius and Alaw frowned at the mirror.

"Wait, he's there right now?"

"In the next room, we're actually in the middle of an Order meeting."

"You paused an Order meeting to give me a telling off?!" Alaw asked incredulously and Sirius snorted.

"Yes I did, and you'll be getting daily tellings off until you go back to your lessons, madam. Now, I've got to go. No doubt Snivellus will let you know when's a good time for another session. Take care of yourselves."

His image faded from the mirror and Alaw immediately chose to swear colourfully in Welsh under breath. She took to pacing around the room, still muttering mutinously whilst Hermione watched on in exasperation.

"Oh come on, Al. It could be worse," she said. "I'll be there from now on and I'm sure Snape won't pry into your personal thoughts. Last time it was just an accident."

Alaw chose not to answer this, instead crossing her arms and scowling at her shoes. Neville wondered over the window and gazed down at something in the grounds.

"Don't be too down," he said, still looking outside. "I've got something that might cheer you up."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" asked Ron and Neville smiled over his shoulder.

"I think Hagrid's back."

* * *

The friends decided not to visit Hagrid until the following morning as it would have been a bit unfair for them to barge in on him after he'd just got back from a long journey. After a hasty breakfast they threw on their travelling cloaks, hats, gloves and scarfs and set off across the frosty lawn, three figures clad in red and gold, and one in green and silver. When they got to the cabin and knocked however, there was no response from inside. The four of them frowned at each other, puzzled.

"He definitely is back, right?" Alaw asked. "We all saw the light in the window."

"He's back alright," said Ron, peering around the edge of the porch. "Look, he's chopped some fresh firewood."

As they all followed Ron's gaze, they spotted the hulking figure of Hagrid coming out of the forest beyond the vegetable patch. They cried out when they saw him and his beetle-black eyes lit up in delight.

"Should 'ave known!" he chuckled as they hurried over to greet him. "Barely been back a night an' you lot are on my doorstep! Blimy it's good ter see ye!"

He drew all four of them into a crushing bear hug and when he let go they all staggered a little. Alaw beamed up at the game-keeper, but in doing so she noticed that his entire face looked bashed and bruised. There were deep cuts across his nose and cheeks and some of the half-healed ones looked like they were infected.

"Fucking hell, has everyone been in fights recently?" she asked wonderingly. "What happened to your face?"

"Just had some scrapes on the road is all," said Hagrid breezily. "Anyhow, come in, come in, I'll make us all a cuppa."

As they followed him into the cabin, Alaw noticed that Hagrid was limping heavily and she exchanged a worried look with the others.

"Would you like me to see to those cuts, Hagrid?" Hermione asked once he'd closed the door on the chilly outdoors. "They look nasty!"

With a little persuasion, Hagrid sat down in his armchair and let Hermione work her magic whilst Alaw lit the fire and Neville went about putting the kettle to boil.

"So, are you going to tell us all about this mission you've been on then?" Ron asked, settling himself comfortably on the sofa. Hagrid shook his head, making Hermione tut and hold him steady with her free hand.

"Can't, Ron, sorry. That's top secret Order stuff."

"Please," Alaw snorted, dragging a chair from the kitchen table around the face the others. "Hardly a big secret, we know you've been off to tangle with the giants."

Hagrid started and fixed Alaw with an astonished look.

"Here now! How did you know about that?" he demanded and Alaw smiled and tapped the side of her nose.

"My Slytherin wiles of course. Now come on, how did it go? Have any of them joined up with the Order?"

Hagrid scowled, though the effect was ruined when he gave Hermione a grateful look for attending the gash over his eye. He was obviously in more pain than he was letting on.

"Never known such a bunch of nosy parkers in all my life," he grumbled. "Alright, yeah, I've been ter see the giants."

When he didn't elaborate Alaw sighed.

"Well?! What are they like?"

"Big," said Hagrid unhelpfully. When they all groaned he chuckled and went on. "They're well away from people, I can tell ye that. Way up in the mountains, I pity the muggles who come across 'em sometimes."

"So, they really are as dangerous as they say?" Alaw asked.

She'd always been sceptical of the descriptions of giants in her history textbooks. They were classed as Beings by the Ministry, capable of understanding the laws set down by wizards. That meant they had to be more intelligent than mere animals, but her books always depicted them as dull, rampaging monsters, incapable of being reasoned with. Hagrid gave a humourless laugh.

"Oh, they're dangerous alright. Though, a lot of that's our fault o'course."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked with a frown.

"Giants, well, they're not like us, exactly," Hagrid explained. He accepted a large mug of tea from Neville and took a gulp before continuing. "They aren't as stupid as people say, they've got their own languages and art and music, just like humans. And you can talk to 'em, if they're in the mood to listen. But they don't like company the way we do. Giants are meant to live alone most of the time, they only come together to have their babies or in times of war. That's how it was back in the olden days. Only in the past few centuries us wizards forced them to move a good long way away from us and they ended up packed together like sardines."

Hagrid shook his head sadly and looked down at his drink.

"There were only about eighty left when Olympe and me got there. Eighty, in the whole world, and there used to be a hundred different tribes."

"But, you did talk to them?" Ron asked and Hagrid nodded.

"Oh yeah, we brought gifts, see, and they were curious so they let us into their camp. We spoke to the Gurg."

"The what?" Neville asked.

"Oh, it's like the Chief. Karkus his name was, and he was quite happy to listen to us when we told him about Dumbledore. But – ah – we ran into a bit of a snag."

"What sort of snag?" Neville asked with a frown, settling himself on the sofa next to Ron. Hagrid grimaced.

"A fight broke out one night, and Karkus was killed. The new Gurg, Golgomath, didn't want nothing to do with us. Even tried to have us killed, but Olympe jumped in with the best Conjunctivitis Curse I've ever seen. And if that weren't bad enough, just a few days later a couple of bloody Death Eaters turn up!"

"Of course," said Alaw bitterly. "Who were they?"

"Well, one of them was this bloke called McNair, right nasty piece of work. He's with the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, and he's bloodthirsty, got it in for interesting beasts he has."

"Did this Golgomath listen to them then?" Hermione asked. She appeared to be finished with her work on Hagrid's cuts because she stowed her wand away in her robes and sank onto the arm of the sofa beside Neville. Neville immediately got up and offered his seat to her.

"Watched 'em talking from the mouth of our cave," Hagrid growled. "Got on like a house on fire by the looks of things. You-Know-Who always did well with the Giants in the last war, guess he offered them revenge for all the stuff the Ministry did to them."

"So, they're joining up with Voldemort then?" Alaw asked, her heart sinking at the very idea. Hagrid winced and slopped some of his tea into his lap.

"I've told ye not ter say his name, Al!" he snapped. "An I dunno, could be that most of the Giants want nothing to do with either side. Can't say I blame them much, plus, it's a bit hard them to get to Britain, got to cross a whole lot of other countries and the other Ministries won't take kindly to that."

There was a pause as they all drank some tea, each imagining the horror Voldemort could unleash with just a handful of Giants on his side. Hagrid eventually shook himself out of his thoughts and asked,

"Anyway, what have you lot been up to since I've been away? How's Emrys been?"

"I thought you'd just been to see him," said Alaw in surprise, nodding her head in the general direction of the forest. Hagrid opened his mouth and then shut it again, looking a little awkward.

"Oh, uh, yeah I have, but I can't speak ter him can I? You been practising yer flying?"

"Sort of," Alaw shrugged. "We still suck at it though. He seems happy enough with his territory though, he's way better at hunting now. What else has been going on? Uh, oh yeah! We've got a spy from the Ministry right up in our business. Dolores Umbridge."

"Oh, yeah. She came to see me last night," said Hagrid and they all started and stared at him in horror.

"Woah, hold on, she came here last night?!" Ron demanded and Hagrid frowned, bemused at their reactions.

"Yeah, she was a bit rude I thought. Told me she was the new Defence teacher, and that she was inspecting all the other staff members."

Alaw and her friends exchanged dark looks.

"Ok, Hagrid, listen to me very carefully," said Alaw urgently. "That woman is a full on psychopath. Fudge has sent her here to get dirt on anyone she thinks is close to Dumbledore and that definitely includes you! You have to make sure your lessons are perfectly boring until she leaves, or she'll have you sacked."

"Oh but that'll be rubbish!" Hagrid chortled. "I've got some great lessons planned for you lot this year."

He didn't seem to understand the gravity of what they were saying and was surprised when they all shouted him down.

"Hagrid please be careful around her!" Hermione pleaded. "She's a monster, she really is! She's already used dark magic on Al during a detention!"

That warranted further explanation and Hagrid was suitably enraged by their account of Umbridge's behaviour. They spent the rest of their visit hotly abusing her and when they walked up to the castle some time later, Alaw hoped against hope that Hagrid would heed their warnings.


End file.
